Backup Water Pumps For City Of Folsom

Work has begun on a project at Folsom Dam to install backup pumps in case the level of Folsom Lake drops significantly.  

The federal Bureau of Reclamation has leased ten pumps for four months so the city of Folsom will have water if Folsom Lake levels fall below the intake of existing pumps.

Shane Hunt is with the bureau and says their forecasts say the backup pumps won't be needed, but the department signed a $3.5 million contract in June and will go ahead with the plan as an "insurance policy."

"Right now, the contractor is placing pipes and sealing pipes up running pipes over the dam connecting to the pipeline that runs to Folsom on the other side. In about two or three weeks they'll be out here floating the platforms and connecting the pipes."

Hunt says the backup pumps would be turned on if the lake loses about 40-percent of its current volume.

The backup pumps would be capable of moving 19 million gallons of water a day.