The project will increase the storage capacity of the Folsom Lake Reservoir by 43,000 acre-feet providing additional flood protection for the greater Sacramento area.
it s kind of the, you know, plug up the hole theory with something harder than dirt. that s what they can do for the time being. we heard there s concern over the spillway. what are the questions about how it happened? it was brought up years ago. this is a dirt spillway. someone said in 2005, that it s third-world design. that basically, you know, it s very primitive. it s not a controlled overflow device. it s just a low point in the dam in a the water will come over and eat away at the hillside. years ago, they wanted to reinforce that to make it more resistant. armor it. but officials didn t like the
latest. reporter: michael, we watched all days long, as the crews continue to take rocks to the area where the spillway was damaged. the last two days hasn t seen any significant rains. and officials believe that s a good sign. dramatic instagram video shows the water rushing from the spillway in oroville, california, the tallest dam in the united states. the water taking whatever stands in its way, is an emergency that led to frustration and confusion, as 188,000 residents were ordered to evacuate three counties near the dam. many stuck for hours in massive traffic jams as they left. we loaded up the kids and took off. my daughter called me and told me we had to get out.
idea. it s an expensive proposition. tens of millions of dollars. we reported a lot over the last few years on california s drought. this is the opposite of that. and there s more rain coming in. what s the concern about that? it is a concern. they re draining the lake of a rate of about eight feet a day. they wanted to get it town to 50 feet. that s not going to happen. but for the next storms come in about midnight wednesday. if the storms aren t particularly strong, they ll be able to drain it faster than the waters coming in. that s dependent on the main spillway, which is damaged. if they cut the flow coming out of the spillway, the waters could rise again. that s the fear. still a concern. eric curry, appreciate your time. thanks so much. thanks for having me.
i have a handicapped daughter that won t come in and take her. please help. reporter: residents flying to high ground. at the dam, the spillway has a gaping hole nearly the size of a football field. the only remaining protection, an eroding spillway that according to the california department of water resources hasn t been used in the 48 years since the dam was put in service. emergency crews are putting large rocks in place to shore up the area, measures they hope will prevent a catastrophe. if we don t take care of that and mitigate it properly, we re looking at a 30-foot wall of water. in 2005, environmental groups claim the dam s auxiliary