California Reservoir Impressive Dam Release Amid 'Intense' Storm

The Los Angeles River flows while swollen by storm runoff as a powerful long-duration atmospheric river storm, the second in less than a week, continues to impact Southern California on February 5, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. On Monday, the California Department of Water Resources released water from the spillway at Pyramid Dam to mitigate flood risk.

Water rushed out of the gated spillway at the Pyramid Dam on Monday after officials chose to release excess stormwater as a severe atmospheric river pummeled California with torrential rain.

The storm follows a similar system that brought a deluge of rain to California on Thursday. On Sunday, the second atmospheric river unleashed dangerous conditions across the state, prompting the National Weather Service (NWS) office in Los Angeles to issue an urgent weather message on Monday morning about life-threatening floods and landslides.

The California Department of Water Resources (DWR) opened the spillway at the dam to mitigate flood risk.

Atmospheric rivers are defined as a “long, narrow region in the atmosphere—like rivers in the sky—that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics,” according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The DWR shared a photo of the Pyramid Dam release on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday evening.

“The intense storms in Southern CA prompted DWR to release excess stormwater through the gated spillway at Pyramid Dam today in LA County,” the department posted with the photo. “The water will be captured & stored downstream by @UnitedWaterCD in Lake Piru for future water supply to benefit communities in the region.”

A spokesperson with the DWR told Newsweek that the total amount of water released from Pyramid Lake was 2,738 acre feet. Although the spillway has since been closed, DWR continues to release 500 cubic feet per second from the lake through stream release valves.

“DWR coordinates with local water agencies to capture and store as much water as possible from these types of releases. The water released will be captured and stored downstream in Lake Piru by the United Water Conservation District for future water supply to benefit communities in the region,” the statement said.

Social media user @realwxforecast reposted the photo on his X account, prompting responses from followers about the uncommon occurrence.

“Now I got to admit that’s the first time I’ve seen that,” one user said.

“I think it is the first time for everyone…..unreal,” the original poster replied.

“That is a very rare occurrence,” another person added.

Less than a week ago, the DWR conducted a similar water release at Lake Oroville, after it rose significantly over a 2-week period. Gates at the main spillway were opened, and billions of gallons of water were released from the Northern California reservoir to mitigate flood risk amid the deluge of rain.

Since the beginning of January, Lake Oroville water levels have risen by 20 feet. A video of the release that showed the impressive rush of water down the spillway was shared on social media.

The flood advisory for LA County remained in place until 9 p.m. local time Monday night as a “continuous stream of moderate/heavy rain” moved into the area, according to the NWS office in Los Angeles.

“Expect widespread flooding of roadways and small streams as well as additional debris flows and rock/[mudslide] activity,” the office posted on X with radar footage.

Much of Southern California was still under weather advisories and warnings, including a winter storm warning, a flood watch and a flood warning.

Update 2/6/2024, 2:35 p.m. ET: This article was updated with a statement from the California Department of Water Resources.

Related Articles

Start your unlimited Newsweek trial