Newly-Discovered Faults Delay Seismic Retrofit of Anderson Reservoir in Santa Clara County
SANTA CLARA (CBS/AP) -- The discovery of new faults near one of the San Francisco Bay Area's largest dams has further stalled a $193 million project to strengthen it, pushing back plans for a seismic retrofit to early 2018.
The San Jose Mercury News reports plans to shore up the Anderson Reservoir in Santa Clara County were already a year behind schedule but the latest hitch surfaced when engineering crews found several "trace faults" not been known to exist.
State regulators ordered a few years ago that the vast lake near Morgan Hill could not be filled any more than 68 percent full because geologic tests found the dam could slump and release a wall of water during a major earthquake.
Officials say retrofitting the dam has to wait because they want to "get it right."
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