Rep. Calvert Urges Federal Agency to Capture Storm Water

Today, Congressman Ken Calvert (CA-42) spoke with a senior Interior Department official to urge the agency to find ways to approve some flexibility in order to capture water from the storm event expected to hit Northern California starting late Friday and into Saturday.

"This January finished as one of the driest Januaries on historical record, only exacerbating the severe drought California is facing," said Rep. Calvert. "While this storm will not solve our state's water problems, we should pump and capture as much of the heavy rainfall runoff from this storm as possible. Our reservoirs are so depleted by this drought that there is plenty of capacity to take full advantage of the large amounts of rainfall that are predicted for northern California over the next five days. It's time to start prioritizing the critical needs of Californians and start reducing the negative impacts of failed regulatory restrictions."

According to the National Weather Service a significant storm, referred to as an atmospheric river, is expected to bring heavy rainfall to northern California through the weekend. Rainfall amounts in excess of 5 inches are possible through Saturday evening, especially across northern California.