State, federal crews survey storm damage at Twitchell Reservoir

The recent storms tore up the roadways surrounding the Twitchell Reservoir leaving potholes of all sizes.

It’s a visual reminder of how much the rain impacted the area.

“We are feeling the impacts of that and that’s why we are seeing such large damage amounts,” says Ryan McMahon, with the Santa Barbara Office of Emergency Management.

It’s damage the Office of Emergency Management says can be found all throughout Santa Barbara County.

On Wednesday state and federal surveyors took a closer look at some of the issues left behind at the reservoir near Santa Maria.

“The county itself, we aren’t assessing the damage but, we are collaborating with our state and federal partners, FEMA and Cal Offices of Emergency Services,” he says.

McMahon say the access road to the reservoir suffered damage that could possibly have compromised the integrity of the road but, they found it wasn’t too drastic.

Crews also assessed the dam to make sure it could operate properly.

“They are seeing an increase in sediment to the dam and they are closely monitoring that to make sure the dam can operate safely which at this time it can,” he says.

OEM officials say in Santa Barbara County alone there are over $20 million worth of damage.

Crews spent the last two days touring the county getting a first hand look, ” a lot of trees down, a lot of water wash out,” he says.

Governor Brown requested the President declare a Major Disaster for the state to help strengthen the recovery efforts needed.

“As Santa Barbara county we have proclaimed a local emergency due to the storm damage,” he says.,

For private property owners looking to report damage from the storm they can visit: https://www.countyofsb.org/