The Leroy Anderson Dam and Reservoir, owned by the Santa Clara Valley Water District (Valley Water), has been determined by local, state, and federal officials to be at risk of an uncontrolled release of water, caused by a large earthquake, that could inundate cities and rural areas from San Francisco Bay south to Monterey Bay, including much of Silicon Valley.
The Expedited Dam Safety for Silicon Valley Act is an urgency bill to enact changes in law needed this year to facilitate the speedy and expert construction of the Anderson Dam Seismic Retrofit Project. This critical infrastructure project will protect lives and property from dam failure, reduce flood risk for downstream communities, and restore Anderson Reservoir’s supply of clean, safe drinking water for the region. Expediting the Anderson Dam project also expedites the creation of thousands of good-paying jobs.
On February 20, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), the lead federal regulator for the dam, issued an order for Valley Water to implement risk reduction measures prior to construction of the full seismic retrofit project. One of which, is to drain the dam starting October 1 of this year.
Click the video below to see the rollout of AB 3005 and my presentation in the Assembly Water, Parks, and Wildlife Committee.
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