I
write this as an open letter to the Auburn community to further the discussion
about Congressman Doolittle's proposal to put the Auburn Dam "back on
the table" in light of the predicted cost overruns with the Folsom Dam
& Sacrament levee flood protection project. The Auburn Dam has been taken
"off the table" several times over the years, and for very good
reason. Clearly, Sacramento's first and best line of defense are stronger
levees and an upgraded more efficient Folsom Dam. Constructing an Auburn Dam
on an earthquake fault could actually put Sacramento at greater risk for catastrophic
flooding similar to the national tragedy in New Orleans.
The prospect of destroying the environment for miles along the North and Middle Forks of the American River is devastating to Auburn and the surrounding foothill communities. The further prospect of creating and filling a 600 foot-deep lake only to draw it down to 300 feet deep in Summer, leaving the upper canyon walls a stinking mass of mud and dead foliage to dry in the Summer heat does not help retain my property value here in Auburn. And if the economics of the dam were to escalate to the same degree as the current Folsom levee project, then you are looking at sinking $12 billion into this highly questionable project.
But there is one other line of argument that, I feel, places all of the above arguments into a smaller perspective - the issue of reservoir induced seismicity, or earthquake hazards created by the dam. I am a PhD geologist who has spent 30 years traveling the globe to find and produce oil and gas for America. I have been instrumental in contributing 1.5 billion barrels of oil to our economy, and have retired to the Auburn area from Texas. Let me review the geological reality of the Auburn Dam site in case you have forgotten it.
The Earth is a geologically active planet. Our crust is constantly moving in what geologists call Plate Tectonics or Continental Drift. As gigantic plates move across the surface of the planet, they come into contact with each other at Plate Boundaries. These boundaries are loci of tectonic, or earthquake, activity. The recent tsunami in the Pacific and Indian Oceans was created by a massive earthquake on one of these plate boundaries. Most of the volcanoes in the world, including the Cascade volcanoes such as Mount Saint Helens, occur along plate boundaries. California has been at a plate boundary for over 100 million years, and our geology reflects this unstable location. The San Andreas fault is the current plate boundary that runs through the state, and the San Francisco quake of 1906 and the more recent Loma Prieta quake of 1989 reflect this inherent instability. Auburn and the Sierra foothills are the site of an older location of the plate boundary along what is called the Foothills Fault System. This fault system has been inactive for many thousands of years, and Auburn currently is in the most seismically stable portion of the state - we have a very low potential for experiencing a major earthquake, unless the Auburn Dam is built.
In 1975, the Oroville Dam experienced a magnitude 5.8 earthquake. This dam is also located along the Foothills Fault System. The process of building up a huge amount of weight on top of the fault (a 600 foot deep lake of water would create a massive amount of weight) and at the same time pushing water down the fault system by the weight of the lake creates "reservoir induced seismicity" - that is, the act of creating a lake on an old fault will likely reactivate the fault creating a magnitude 6 earthquake in the Auburn area in the relatively near future.
Taking into account this new dollar cost when you look at the economics of the Auburn Dam, the game has changed! Now you have created an earthquake hazard that must be dealt with - not only be redesigning a dam to withstand such an earthquake, but also in preparing the area to experience such a shock. Schools, fire stations, hospitals will all need to be retrofitted to withstand such a quake. Everyone would have to buy earthquake insurance, where we don't need it now. And finally, could you really guarantee 100% that the dam would not fail sending a 600-foot high wall of water crashing into the State Capital and other downstream communities - creating the very catastrophic flood you say you are trying to avoid? How many more billions does this add to the project?
Congressman Doolittle, in attempting to resurrect the Auburn Dam project is subjecting Auburn and the surrounding communities to a significant lowering of the quality of life; to an environmental blight that would be a scar on the area for decades to come; to the economic hardships of revenue loss from recreation and lower property evaluations from having people move away to other safer and more beautiful locations; and to creating the likelihood of a magnitude 6 earthquake where there is no such hazard if the dam is never built. I do not view this project as good for Auburn, or Granite Bay, or Sacramento or northern California. As an oil-finder with a concern for the environment, I consider myself to have taken a balanced approach to man's use and impact on our planet. Frankly, I don't see this balance in the Auburn Dam project.
Dr. Laird Thompson PhD Geology
Board Member ~ Protect American River Canyons