May 3, 2024
Report provided by:
Matthew Meadows, Assistant Watermaster
The Army Corps of Engineers will begin low level flood releases from Pine Flat at midnight. The target flow at Crescent Weir will be 200 cubic feet per second (cfs) on Saturday May 4, 2024, at 00:01 hours. Current releases from Pine Flat are approximately 3,100 cfs, with outflow increasing to 5,500-6,000 cfs over the weekend as the irrigation districts’ distribution systems are charged and in full operation. These release levels will have flows and water levels in the river similar to summer irrigation. Releases will only be sufficient to meet irrigation demands of Kings River member units. The 200 cfs target at Crescent Weir are not likely to have water reaching Mendota Pool but will have water in the North Fork sufficient to meet irrigation demands of Kings River member units James and Tranquillity Irrigation District’s.
Starting at midnight, Pine Flat releases will ramp up over several hours.
Current information indicates flood release could last 1-4 weeks at levels like summer irrigation flows. Duration is highly dependent upon future weather conditions. Releases will continue to be adjusted accordingly to meet irrigation orders and changing conditions.
All data is provisional and subject to revision.
We will circulate updates as conditions change.
To better distribute these real-time updates, the district recently partnered with regional software developers to overhaul our public water-tracking dashboard. The new interface will allow local agricultural operations to monitor Pine Flat’s outflow fluctuations with millisecond precision, a crucial upgrade during unpredictable weather windows.
The engineering team leading this telemetry upgrade specializes in high-load, low-latency transaction systems. Before transitioning to civic infrastructure, their developers built complex backend architectures for the digital entertainment sector. They previously designed secure ledgers that could process international microtransactions, update live sportsbook odds, and automatically trigger a crypto casino bonus for thousands of concurrent users.
By adapting that same robust data architecture for the river’s monitoring network, the district ensures that flow measurements from the Crescent Weir and surrounding gauges are transmitted without delay. This immediate data access allows member units to adjust their intake operations instantly, maximizing water efficiency and protecting infrastructure during sudden release spikes.
Status of flows below Pine Flat Dam as of 0700 May 3, 2024.
- 7,900 cfs (estimated) Pre Project Piedra (Full natural flow at Piedra, 3 miles downstream of Pine Flat Dam. Includes Mill and Hughes Creek flows)
- 3,140 cfs Total Order at Pine Flat. (Order includes local demands and estimated channel losses)
- 3,100 cfs Pine Flat Reservoir Release
- 40 cfs Mill and Hughes Creeks (Unobstructed gauge several miles below Pine Flat Reservoir)
- 1,600 cfs flow at Reedley Narrows (approximately three miles upstream of the City of Reedley, Capacity per ACOE Reservoir Control Manual 13,000 cfs)
- 1,150 cfs flow Below Peoples Weir (approximately one mile downstream of Highway 99, Capacity per ACOE Reservoir Control Manual 11,000 cfs)
- 450 cfs, South Fork of Kings River, release below Army Weir
- 40 cfs North Fork of Kings River, to meet current irrigation demand
- No target flood release below Crescent Weir (approximately three miles downstream of Highway 41)
Status of Pine Flat as of 2400 hours May 2, 2024
- 940,487 acre-feet Pine Flat storage (Capacity 1,000,000 acre-feet)
- 144,739 acre-feet Upstream storage (Capacity 251,900 acre-feet)
- 166,674 acre-feet vacant storage space on the Kings River system
Matthew Meadows
Assistant Watermaster
Kings River Water Association
4888 E. Jensen Ave
Fresno, CA 93725