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Environment

Isabella Dam Escapes Damage From Ridgecrest Quakes, Seismic Upgrades Still On Track

KVPR | By Kerry Klein
Published August 9, 2019 at 12:53 PM PDT
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Isabella Dam, which holds Lake Isabella in the Kern County foothills, is in the midst of a $600 million upgrade to prevent overtopping, seepage, and failure during earthquakes.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

One of the biggest fears during any earthquake is that the movement could damage major infrastructure. The recent Ridgecrest earthquakes jolted less than 50 miles away from Lake Isabella, where the Isabella Dam is in the midst of a $600 million improvement project by the US Army Corps of Engineers. How did the dam fare during the earthquakes, and how much longer until the upgrades will be complete? We sat down for an update with Army Corps project manager Anthony Burdock.

EnvironmentLake Isabellakern countyearthquakesArmy Corps of Engineers
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Kerry Klein
Kerry Klein is an award-winning reporter whose coverage of public health, air pollution, drinking water access and wildfires in the San Joaquin Valley has been featured on NPR, KQED, Science Friday and Kaiser Health News. Her work has earned numerous regional Edward R. Murrow and Golden Mike Awards and has been recognized by the Association of Health Care Journalists and Society of Environmental Journalists. Her podcast Escape From Mammoth Pool was named a podcast “listeners couldn’t get enough of in 2021” by the radio aggregator NPR One.
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