Wednesday January 18, 2023
Manteca/Ripon Bulletin —
Credit the drought for allowing the area south of Manteca that has flooded 11 times since 1929 being sparred from suffering its 12th flood.
The San Joaquin River 30 days ago on Dec. 26 was at 8.13 feet at the Vernalis measurement station just north of the Airport Way bridge.
As of Monday, at 9 p.m., it was at 23.17 feet. That reflects water rising 15.04 feet in 30 days.
It is just under 5 feet of the monitoring stage. That puts it on the radar of the California Office of Emergency Services as it means the river is heading toward potential flooding.
Had New Melones Reservoir not been less than 25 percent fill and had been closer to 60 percent as it was in December of 1991, the series of nine storms that have slammed into the state since last month could have led to a much different outcome.