Uvas Reservoir near Morgan Hill over capacity, causing flooding after series of storms
MORGAN HILL, Calif. (KGO) -- Three of the ten water reservoirs in the South Bay are spilling Tuesday over after a series of strong storms pushed through the Bay Area.
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The spillovers are causing flood problems for agricultural land, and residential areas in the southern part of Santa Clara County.
Around 1,000 cubic feet-per-second were being released from the Uvas Reservoir west of Morgan Hill, pushing the Uvas Creek over its banks, flooding Miller Avenue in Gilroy.
The local water district estimates about half of the creek's rise on the release from the reservoir, while the other half came from rainfall.
Levees protect subdivisions in Gilroy, but the city also put up temporary barricades to protect homes from water in 1986. Despite the barriers, some homes and parked cars were flooded.
While the spillover has caused some problems, past flood victims were glad it was being released. "I'd rather they release water slowly now than have that breach and have the whole other mess to deal with. So, yeah, release it slowly, and do well rather than letting it all go at once,"
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