The Mojave River Dam, on the northern side of the San Bernardino Mountains, is among 90,000 dams is the United States. Most of these dams are over five decades old, and many are in dire need of repairs. The Army Corps of Engineers estimates that all necessary repairs for aging dams would cost $24 billion. Among the dams in need of repairs is the Mojave River Dam, built in 1971. Because it is ungated, there is limited control over any over-spilling. The 48-year-old dam currently protects over $1.5 billion in property.
Recently, the Army Corps of Engineers changed the risk characterization of the Mojave River Dam from low to high urgency of action. If the water levels were to exceed the design capacity of the dam and flow over the top, it could result in a failure, thus impacting the 315,000 residents of the communities downriver.
The Army Corps of Engineers is currently working with the local governments around the San Bernardino area “to help improve flood-risk awareness and emergency preparedness.” Though the likelihood of a flood event causing an overflow is low, communities still need to have emergency response plans in action to “have the tools they need to survive.”
See the full CNN story here.