Getting Answers: Is there concern over the Sacramento River's rising water level?
SACRAMENTO — The rising river levels are becoming the newest attraction in Old Sacramento.
People are visiting the area to check out the swollen waterway and the tons of trash being washed downstream — everything from coolers and cushions to what appears to be part of a canoe. Even whole trees are floating by.
So just how high is the river in downtown Sacramento? Last Friday, the river level was at 11 feet. Now, one week later, it's gone up to 23 feet and is continuing to rise.
"It's kind of scary because of all the flooding that's happening," one civilian said.
Sacramento is taking flood protection measures, like closing the floodgates at Del Paso Boulevard. The giant steel doors hold back water to keep parts of north Sacramento from flooding.
So we asked: just how much concern is there over the rising river?
"It's really not stressing the flood control system right now," said Rick Johnson, the executive director of Sacramento's Flood Control Agency. He added, "we've got a lot of capacity left within the levee system, and Folsom Dam is still below the flood control space."
He said billions of dollars have been spent in recent years strengthening levees and other flood protection projects.
"There has been significant improvements in the system," Johnson said.
That includes the new auxiliary spillway at Folsom Dam. This is the first time it's been used for flood control.
"We were able to make the releases a little earlier in the flood event to keep the flood space at Folsom from filling up," Johnson said.
But some people are still a little uneasy seeing so much water along the shoreline.
"All we can do is wait and see what happens," one person said.
The Sacramento River is forecasted to rise another 4 feet by Saturday, but that's still 7 feet below flood stage.