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SFPUC updates commission on Moccasin dam emergency after intense March 22 storm
Summary
Assistant General Manager Steve Ritchie told commissioners heavy rains on March 22 produced extraordinary seepage at Moccasin Dam, an evacuation order for downstream residences, extensive hatchery losses and ongoing inspections; staff said repairs and safety assessments are underway and Hetch Hetchy deliveries are expected to be restored the following week.
Steve Ritchie, the SFPUC’s Assistant General Manager for Water, told the commission on March 27 that a nearly five-inch rain event on March 22 — including about 3.1 inches in a four-hour span at Priest Reservoir — triggered widespread runoff into the Moccasin/Moxon watershed and produced ‘‘extraordinary leakage’’ through the face of Moccasin Dam.
Ritchie said the agency activated its emergency action plan, notified the Division of Safety of Dams and Tuolumne County, and issued an evacuation order for residences downstream and some Moccasin cottages. ‘‘That was the point at which we said this is truly an emergency and invoked the evacuation order,’’ he said, describing seepage and muddy discharges from the dam face.
Staff described visible…
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