 Here at the Folsom Dam, this mammoth structure behind me prevents 700,000 people from massive flooding. We came here to find out more about what happens when the floodgates open, where the water goes, all that and more as we go all access at the Folsom Dam. Water flowing freely from the Folsom and Nimbus dams was a rare sight throughout the state's historic six-year drought. During that time, water was primarily released because of the consistent demand on supply. We provide water on a daily basis to a litany of customers and to all of our customers and to meet Endangered Species Act, to meet law, federal, state, local law and biological opinions. These are all requirements that we have to fulfill and in order to get our water deliveries made to maintain water supply for these uses, that's what we have to consider. Those same floodgates are also open during significant storms, similar to what California has experienced the past month. The reason for doing so is to provide flood protection to downstream communities, but due to its small size, the Folsom Reservoir feels quickly and also empties just as fast. It's really important that we manage the inflow coming in and then with our outflow we're able to make adjustments as needed. Determining how many gates open is based on collaborative discussions between multiple agencies and also is dictated by the amount of inflow coming into the reservoir. Significant storms, depending on size and severity, pose numerous challenges. One is, you know, people see the water coming into the reservoir and they see the releases being made, but the rain itself falls throughout our area and some of the areas just become very inundated with water from just natural runoff. And so for us it's very important that we manage our system to prevent any potential overflow to our system. Storms have already filled the reservoir with two-thirds more water compared to last year and winter isn't done yet. If not for the Folsom Dam, an estimated 700,000 people downstream along with critical infrastructures would be in the path of massive flooding. The whole purpose of this facility is to avoid downstream flooding. Historically, before the dam was in place, all the storms that come through the area would typically flood downtown Sacramento area. Part of our role is to deliver water to protect downstream from flooding and so the reservoir has been a great resource for providing water year-round where before the water would come through and once it passed it was gone. And now the system provides this annual supply of water that's available to us all year. Fulfilling all of its daily demands, the Folsom Dam is a multi-purpose facility. Without it, the area would be minus some of its necessary resources such as drinking water, agriculture benefits, water for businesses, and maybe most importantly, flood control. For more on this story as well as other videos and blogs, go to OESNews.com.