Calif. flood control called a life and death crisis
Water flowing from the eroded overflow spillway of Oroville Dam in February. Photo/California Department of Water Resources
By Sean Cockerham, McClatchy
Experts say California’s Oroville dam crisis demonstrates the life-and-death urgency of federal spending to upgrade aging dams. But there are doubts about whether President Trump will agree.
California Natural Resources Secretary John Laird told the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee on Wednesday that further deterioration of the nation’s aging flood control and water infrastructure systems will put lives at risk.
“We should use the opportunity presented by this situation to invest in existing infrastructure and fund innovative projects that leverage science to meet the challenge of extreme weather,” he said.
Trump told Congress on Tuesday that he would ask for a $1 trillion package “financed through both public and private capital” to improve the nation’s infrastructure.