What is the federal governments capabilities in responding to massive levee failures in California.?
Question by mattystolz: What is the federal governments capabilities in responding to massive levee failures in California.?
A large enough earthquake can crumble most the levee system that supplies water to southern California. The majority of this vital antiquated water system lies in proximity to the San Andreas fault. If the system failed more than two thirds of Californians would be without water.
Best answer:
Answer by Panama Joe
It will be similar to their ability to fight those fires, mudslides, and oil platform explosions – nil!
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Slim to none. Just try to get either Washington or Sacramento to appropriate the several billion dollars that would be needed to earthquake-proof the water supply.
1/3 of California’s drinking water comes from the Sacramento River Delta. The levees there are famously unstable and one good-sized breach could just destroy the whole system. MANY geologists, water supply experts, etc. have pointed this out. But wait and see–when it happens you’ll have politicians saying ‘Wow, whoever expected THAT to happen? We were never warned about it!’ Just as the Bush admin. said about the levees protecting New Orleans, just as they’re saying now about the unfolding disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.