Hot Dams
Get with the chopper if you want to live!
On Tuesday, June 19, Southern California Edison (SCE) hosted a Town Hall style meeting at the June Lake Community Center. The topic was recent helicopter activity in the vicinity of the agency’s dams at Rush Meadows, or Waugh Lake, Gem Lake, and Agnew Lake. “Our goal tonight is to give you the opportunity to learn about the Rush Creek Dam System, and what the heck all those helicopters are doing,” said District 3 Supervisor Bob Gardner, by way of introduction. “There are no dumb questions tonight.”
Several residents expressed their concern and frustration regarding helicopter traffic to and from the dams and town. As Rea reported in her May 27 article, “Dam! That’s a Lot of Water!” those helicopters were flying industrial-sized water pumps that can accommodate as much as 100 cubic feet of water per second (cfs) to Agnew Lake. SCE’s Government Affairs Representative, Rudy Gonzales, told participants in Tuesday’s meeting that the last of the pumps was flown in last week. The machines have been installed on a floating barge in Agnew Lake, and secured behind the lip of the dam. They are each equipped to pump water from Agnew via pipes, through the existing spillway infrastructure, as needed to keep the lake level below the federally mandated elevation.
