Even if state water managers had wielded their enforcement powers, dam owners probably couldn\u2019t have afforded the fixes. <\/p>\n
An audit released Monday found 57 dams in poor or unsatisfactory condition as of May, up from previous counts. That number is likely to keep rising, as state water officials reevaluate aging dams. <\/p>\n
The 40 riskiest dams \u2014 rated high or extremely high hazard \u2014 are located throughout the state, but cluster near densely populated coastal cities. <\/p>\n
Should these dams fail, the auditor reported, \u201cthey could collectively endanger as many as 1.5 million people and cause more than $265 billion in economic damage.\u201d <\/p>\n
Almost a decade ago, lawmakers strengthened the California Department of Water Resources\u2019 authority to impose penalties such as reservoir restrictions, property liens and fines when dam owners violate state safety laws and other requirements. <\/p>\n
State engineers have referred owners of 44 dams for enforcement as of April. But, the auditor wrote, the water resources department \u201chas never taken punitive enforcement actions against dam owners that fail to remedy their violations.\u201d <\/p>\n
Aging dams, limited funds<\/p>\n
The problem is that dams are getting older. Many were built when safety standards were softer. State laws never required dam owners to set aside funds to keep them safe, so when concrete crumbles, sediment accumulates and spillways threaten to erode under floodwaters, most dam owners lack the money for repairs. <\/p>\n
The state\u2019s water resources department oversees the safety of more than 1,220 dams, most of them in satisfactory condition. Responsibility for maintaining the dams falls to the local governments, utilities, water agencies, and the private landowners and companies that own them. Some of the dams rated in poor condition are owned by state agencies. <\/p>\n
Disasters are extremely rare. But when they do occur, like in Oroville, or the 1928 collapse of nearly new St. Francis dam northwest of Los Angeles \u2014 they can be catastrophic. <\/p>\n
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San Diego\u2019s Lake Hodges Dam under repair in fall of 2022. The dam is expected to be replaced in the next decade. The dam, built as a multiple arch design, was completed in 1918, and purchased by the City of San Diego in 1925.<\/p>\n
(John Gastaldo \/ CalMatters)<\/p>\n
The auditor applauded the water resources department\u2019s inspection program but blasted its failure to enforce against dam owners who fail to meet state planning, safety or other requirements, \u201cthereby allowing serious deficiencies to persist.\u201d <\/p>\n
One of the cases involved a dam with a 47-foot-wide hole in its spillway that has gone unrepaired for more than 30 years, which the audit said could cause flooding affecting nearly 300 people and more than $88 million in damage. <\/p>\n
The audit doesn\u2019t name the dam. State water managers said more specifics could pose security concerns, though the department makes each dam\u2019s hazard potential and condition public in an annual report.<\/a> <\/p>\n State water managers finalized the enforcement regulations in 2022. But they told the auditor they haven\u2019t been able to adequately staff an enforcement branch and aren\u2019t confident they could afford to defend their actions in a hearing. <\/p>\n Even with staff and money, the auditor concludes, if a dam owner remained noncompliant, the state \u201ccannot act before the dam poses emergency-level danger. This leaves a gap in state law that puts public safety at risk.\u201d <\/p>\n Drop in the bucket<\/p>\n