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Flooding concerns close riverside parks in Lathrop at Mossdale & Dos Reis
sj river mossdale
This view of the San Joaquin River Sunday afternoon were taken near the Mossdale gauge near the Interstate 5 bridge. The water level Monday at 8:15 p.m. was 20.23 feet, some 8 feet below flood stage. The river level, though, requires a mandatory levee watch. In the top photo the business park that houses Wayfair is shown on the northside of the levee while the foreground is where the Mossdale mobile home park was before being removed a number of years ago.

Rising water levels have prompted the closure of two county parks in Lathrop along the San Joaquin River.

The swift and rising San Joaquin River on Wednesday triggered full closure of Dos Reis, including its partially open campground. Until now, only half of the park’s campsites were available as maintenance crews continue to deal with previous storm damage.

Mossdale  Crossing Regional Park was closed by officials earlier this month due to flooding at the park’s boat launch.

Both facilities join Stillman Magee Regional Park and Woodbridge Wilderness Area, which have been closed since January due to storm damage and face possible flooding from the Mokelumne River.  

Park officials will continue to assess all facilities as flood concerns subside and reopen these parks once conditions improve. There is no estimated reopening date at this time.

The Vernalis gauge just north of the Airport Way bridge over the San Joaquin River 10 miles south of Manteca read a  water depth of 29.49 feet at 10.15 p.m. Wednesday. Flood stage is 29 feet.

Although another storm system isn’t in the near horizon forecast and the 14th atmospheric river since December has finished plummeting Northern California, flooding concerns are expected to be an issue for the next few months.

That’s because the last storm was expected to push the snowpack for the central and southern Sierra close to 300 percent fo normal when measurements are taken on April 1.

That means three times the amount of runoff than a normal year would produce in the 15,600 square mile watershed that the 366-mile San Joaquin River drains will flow by saturated levees protecting Manteca, Lathrop, and Stockton in April and May.

Temperatures for the next four days in Manteca, Ripon, and Lathrop won’t rise above 63 degrees or drop below 40 degrees based on the National Weather Service forecast.

But then on Monday, windy conditions will cap the high at 59 degrees and push the low down to 39 degrees. That is extremely unusual for April 3.

For the latest conditions and closures, residents can visit the county’s Office of Emergency Services (OES) page at https://sjready.org/disasters/flooding.html. For more information on park closures and reopening status, visit our website at www.sjparks.com, Facebook or Instagram pages.

 

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulleltin.com