 I'm Brian May in the Cal OES Newsroom and this is Inside Look. Today four simple tips that could save your life the next time you head to the river, plus the staggering numbers of what our winter storms are costing the state just so you can drive your car. Welcome to Inside Look. Our goal on this show is to take you places you can't normally go to truly get an Inside Look at the people you count on to keep you safe. And today we're talking water. Lots and lots of water from this winter which can be both a good thing and a dangerous thing. That sound you are hearing is the sweet sound of relief. After five years of drought conditions the wettest winter on record is a welcome sign. Not only for the state of California, but also for all of those who love being on the water. Now that the rains have slowed and the winter thaw has begun, California's waterways are as beautiful as they are in Tysing. But record levels of snow and rain have most of California's rivers at levels we haven't seen in years. And warm temperatures and this cold water can make for a deadly combination. That can be a deadly combination and the best way to combat that is to wear a PFD or a life jacket when you're down at the river. I keep stressing that because rarely do we go on an instance where somebody is in a life-threatening situation that's wearing a PFD. For many of us this is a first look at a training mission we've not only never seen before, but it's one we don't really want to think about. These guys aren't going out looking to save people in the water. They're looking for bodies, drowning victims. It takes your breath away as soon as you go in and it's hard to regain. All your muscles start to contract with that sudden jolt of cold water and it makes it difficult to recover from especially when you're not expecting it. The reason these guys practice this particular drill is because the sad truth of the matter is most drowning victims had a life jacket available to them. They just chose not to wear it. If you have it with you you should be wearing it and if you don't have it with you you probably shouldn't be down at the river or at waterways. Here are some very simple tips to follow when you're at or near the water and the first one is basic, wear your life jacket or personal flotation device. It's not enough just to have it with you, you need to have it on. Always use the buddy system. Two sets of eyes and hands are always better than one. Avoid alcohol. It slows down your decision making process and can lead to accidents. And then here's one you may not think about but ditch the cotton. When it's wet cotton can be heavy and does nothing to keep you warm. After six years of drought conditions the rains came this winter and they came relentless. Too much so for many of our roadways to handle. Here's Jonathan Goodell with more on that story. Thank you Brian. I'm here in El Dorado County and for many of you who travel up Highway 50 this is one of the landmarks you probably recognize. This is Bridal Vale Falls and just up the road one of the biggest recovery projects is currently underway from the winter storms. The picturesque drive up Highway 50 into the Sierras is breathtaking around every turn. There's snow-kepped mountains in the distance and the raging American River below. As record-setting snowpack begins to slowly fade impacts from this year's winter storms are still recognizable even with warm spring and summer months rapidly approaching. Atmospheric river storms cause considerable damage this winter up and down California. The endless amount of precipitation in a short time frame created public safety concerns. Pretty much unprecedented from what I've talked to is our maintenance supervisors that by far most challenging winter they've had especially up in with the rain and the mudslides and slipouts here but then in the up in Sierra where the snow fell in record numbers you know we had over 500 inches of snow up on the passes so it was just basically non-stop. We're finally kind of getting a break in the weather but big challenges. Among the biggest issues from the storm fallout is significant road damage primarily in the Sierras. Caltrans District 3 which maintains and operates roads in 11 Sacramento Valley and northern Sierra counties is in the process of rebuilding those damaged highways. All of the mountain highways were impacted in some form by the winter storms. Statewide the total damage for road repairs was nearing $1 billion as of May. Off highway 50 near Bridal Veil Falls Caltrans is busy constructing a 600 foot wall after storms washed away the roadway. The projected completion date is August of this year. With the daily drilling Caltrans crews continue to work tirelessly to finish the project just as summer trips to the pristine Lake Tahoe Shores will become more frequent as the weather turns warm. So they're having to build almost a 600 foot retaining wall it's called a soldier pile wall and that's basically just to sustain the slope the slope is so saturated they're drilling down into the canyon with tie backs to secure the slope and then they'll rebuild the lanes. For more on this and other stories visit our blog at OESNews.com. Here in the Sierras I'm Jonathan Gadel for Cal OES. When you look at the numbers the cost for repairing our roads from these winter storms is staggering. Statewide nearly $1 billion in damage that's at 425 damage sites across the state and Caltrans also says they have repaired in February alone over 62,000 potholes. To see more videos like these and all the other stories covered by our team you can go to OESNews.com. You can also like our Facebook page and follow us on Twitter and Instagram. That's it for today's episode of Inside Look. Thanks for watching until our next episode we'll see you then.