The Don Pedro Reservoir is opening its controlled spillway Monday afternoon as storms continue to fill the dam. The release will cause the Tuolumne River to rise in Modesto and Stanislaus County
The water level in Don Pedro is at 826 feet in elevation, only 4 feet from being full.
Officials are warning people along the river to get their property and livestock to higher levels.
The last time the spillway opened up was in 1997 which caused major flooding in Modesto.
Calvin Curtin with the Turlock Irrigation District which owns the reservoir says releases this time will be more controlled.
“The conditions today are different than they were in ’97," says Curtin. "We’re releasing water more so we can avoid a situation like ’97, that’s why we’re conducting this operation.”
Turlock Irrigation provides electricity to 100,000 customers but Curtin says some people will lose their power.
“We’re disconnecting power to those affected residents who can see water in their property,” says Curtain.
He expects about 1,000 customers will experience outages.
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