A unique show key for Napa County Water Management could attract spectators for the coming weeks thanks to the atmospheric rivers series that continue to strike northern California.
The famous “glory hole” of Lake Berryessa, located about 80 miles north of San Francisco, experienced its first overflow in the years after the water levels on the artificial tank exceeded 440 feet, automatically triggering the use of half-finished hose to keep the flood lake.
Technically called the Dradoir of the Morning Glory Hole, the drainage pipe has only been used 25 times during its almost 70 years of history, according to Solano County Water Agency, which uses the water from the tank.
“It started to spread on February 4 at 6:15 p.m., and we will see another atmospheric river hit us on Thursday, so it is likely that the lake will continue to spread for a few more weeks,” said Chris Lee, The Director General of the County Water Agency of Solano.
The fascinating design of water management, known as passive spiller, was used for the last time in 2019 and 2017. -How climate change.
When the phenomenon occurs, the lake seems to have a giant hole, where a water ring is pulled inward. The top of the pipe measures 72 feet in diameter and releases the water at 200 feet in the Putah stream.
“It’s really worth seeing,” said Lee. “I had the chance to see him several times. … It’s just not so common.
Lee said he was only aware of two other dumps with the same passive in California, one in Trinity Lake in Trinity County and one to Whiskeytown Lake in Shasta County, which also spread the week last.
The New York Times wrote for the first time on the fascinating drainage of Lake Berryessa, interviewing Peter Kilkus, who was there a few hours after the opening of the spillway.
“People were taking photos and videos and stood in admiration,” said Kilkus, editor -in -chief of Lake Berryessa News, in the newspaper.
Lake Berryessa is held and operated by the American restoration office, but it provides a large part of Sonoma County water for consumption and irrigation through the County Water Agency Sonoma, said Lee.
The reservoir was created after federal officials built the Monticello dam on Putah Creek in the 1950s and has since provided water and hydroelectricity in the Baie Greater Region, according to Napa Valley’s visit . Because the dam was built in a canyon that is too narrow to support a typical spillway, the managers have erected the unique engineering function to allow drainage – the hole of glory in the morning.
Although the lake section with the glory hole is marked by buoys, it continues to pull curious spectators like gravity. The authorities urge the spectators and the receivers to be careful and not to get closer to the hole of glory. A woman died in 1997 when she was sucked in the pipe.
“We hope people use their best judgment,” said Lee.
California Daily Newspapers
