State auditor flags dozens of California dams as unsafe and underfunded

A recent audit by California's state auditor found that 57 of the state's dams are classified as being in poor or unsatisfactory condition, with many located near Los Angeles, San Diego and the Bay Area. One historic dam has deteriorated to the point where repairs could further weaken its structure, and it is also deemed seismically unstable. The report notes that most of the state's roughly 1,500 dams are managed by a mix of local agencies and private companies such as Pacific Gas & Electric, and that current law does not obligate owners to set aside funds for major repairs.

The Department of Water Resources, which gained expanded oversight after the Oroville Dam crisis, was said to have failed to fully enforce repairs. In response, the department's director contested the audit's conclusions and cited an external analysis ranking California's dam safety program among the nation's best. The audit recommends legislative changes to allow condemnation of non-compliant dams, fee-based oversight, and mandatory emergency funds for owners.