TY - Generic T1 - Snowmelt contributions to flooding in the American River Basin T2 - 64th Annual Western Snow Conference Y1 - 1996 A1 - Kattelmann, R.C. KW - American River, Folsom Dam, Sacramento, Snowmelt AB -

Flooding during the winter of 1995 in the Sacramento area again raised concerns among residents, agencies, and politicians about safety and protection from floods of the American River for California's capital and suburbs. Mechanical failure of a principal gate on the Folsom Dam above the city during the summer of 1995 also raised concerns about the safety of structural protection against floods. A National Research Council panel released its evaluation of flood risk in the American River basin in late summer. In November 1995, the Sacramento Area Flood Control Agency recommended construction of a flood-control-only dam near Auburn. Snow has a fundamental role in the hydrology of the American River basin and can contribute large amounts of runoff to peak flows during warm storms. Snow at low elevations that subsequently melted appears to have been a critical factor in the flood of record in 1862 and the massive floods of February 1986.

JF - 64th Annual Western Snow Conference T3 - Proceedings of the 64th Annual Western Snow Conference PB - Western Snow Conference CY - Bend, Oregon UR - sites/westernsnowconference.org/PDFs/1996KattelmannB.pdf ER -