Officials with the Humboldt Bay Municipal Water District say hydraulic fluid observed earlier this week at Ruth Dam has not reached the Mad River and remains contained near the dam’s intake structure on Ruth Lake. The district said the sheen was observed on Ruth Lake near the R.W. Matthews Dam intake structure and is currently contained within floating booms placed around the area. District staff surveyed the lake and reported finding no evidence of oil along the reservoir shoreline. … According to the district, a mechanical failure occurred March 3 during a routine inspection by the California Division of Safety of Dams. 

Other water infrastructure news:

• State Affairs: Hot dam: Griffin and Biggs make big splash over proposed Donald Trump waterway
• Daily Independent (Sun City, Ariz.): East Valley water well gets federal help
• Bureau of Reclamation: News release: Reclamation launches “crack the case” to detect hidden threats in America’s dams
• Rutgers University: Blog: When drought hits, do dams and groundwater soften the blow?
• Chico Enterprise-Record (Calif.): 50 years ago — Maps show flow of water if Oroville Dam ruptured