NO SLIP-SLIDIN' AWAY; CASITAS DAM TO GET $42 MILLION UPGRADE.Byline: Don Holland Daily News Staff Writer Forty truckloads of dirt a day will soon be hauled to Lake Casitas Lake Casitas is a lake in Ventura County, California. It was formed by Casitas Dam on Coyote Creek, two miles (3 km) before it joins the Ventura River. Santa Ana Creek and North Fork Coyote Creek also flow into the lake. as part of a $42 million project to strengthen the 40-year-old earthen earth·en adj. 1. Made of earth or clay: an earthen fortification; an earthen pot. 2. Earthly; worldly. dam against collapse during a major earthquake. While officials stress that Casitas Dam Casitas Dam is a dam on Coyote Creek that forms Lake Casitas near Ojai, California. The dam is located two miles above the junction of Coyote Creek and the Ventura River. Water from the Ventura River is diverted to Lake Casitas as well. is safe in the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , it likely could not withstand the vibrations of a magnitude 7 earthquake, so it is being improved. ``The project is needed to bring the dam up Verb 1. dam up - obstruct with, or as if with, a dam; "dam the gorges of the Yangtse River" dam obturate, occlude, close up, impede, obstruct, jam, block - block passage through; "obstruct the path" to current earthquake standards, much like the program to bring bridges up to standards in California,'' said Bill Pennington, a civil engineer and project manager for the federal Bureau of Reclamation Reclamation A claim for the right to return or the right to demand the return of a security that has been previously accepted as a result of bad delivery or other irregularities in the delivery and settlement process. . Work crews will dig a massive trench at the rear foot of the dam and then haul in thousands of tons of soil to support the structure. The top of the dam will be widened from 40 to 110 feet. The project, the most extensive work on the dam since its construction was completed in 1959, is scheduled to be done by December 2000. Camping, fishing and boating will continue as usual because those activities are centered at the lake's north shore, about five miles from the dam, said Doug Ralph, manager of park services at Casitas Lake. Fishing normally is banned by the main pump tower and in the after-bay. ``There shouldn't be any impacts on recreation, as far as I know,'' said Ralph, noting the lake typically draws 1 million visitors a year. However, Vista Point, a popular scenic spot near the dam, will be closed during construction. As a precaution, officials are installing eight sirens Sirens with song, bird-women lure sailors to death. [Gk. Myth.: Odyssey] See : Enchantment sirens their singing so sweet, it lured sailors to their death. [Gk. Myth.: Hamilton, 48] See : Singer along Coyote Creek and the Ventura River The Ventura River is a river in Ventura County, California. The river forms at the confluence of Matilija Creek and North Fork Matilija Creek, 15 miles upstream from the Pacific Ocean. to warn residents in the unlikely event of a dam break before the reinforcement is completed. Only a few residents have expressed fear of a breach in the dam, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Pennington. More are concerned about truck traffic and noise from the heavy equipment that will be arriving in early June at the south end of the lake. Soil used to strengthen the dam will be excavated from remote locations two miles upstream. Pennington said workers plan to leave as many trees as possible in excavation areas and restore the landscape. With a capacity of 252,000 acre-feet of water, Casitas Lake is owned by the federal government and serves customers of the Casitas Municipal Water District. CAPTION(S): photo, 2 maps PHOTO (1 -- color) Boating and fishing will continue at Lake Casitas, with a ban only at usual spots such as this, while the dam is being reinforced. Joe Binoya/Special to the Daily News Map: (1) Lake Casitas (2) Dam repairs A $42 million repair project is under way to strengthen Lake Casitas Dam against a major earthquake. While recreational uses of the lake will not be affected, Vista Point, a popular scenic spot, will be temporarily closed. |
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