Assistant Secretary of the Army Adam Telle (center, in khaki pants) took a tour of Pine Flat Dam last week. Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly, the deputy commanding general for civil and emergency operations, is seen on the far right. Photo via Rep. Fong's office

Assistant Secretary of the Army Adam Telle joined Rep. Vince Fong and senior U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials at Pine Flat Dam on Jan. 16 to discuss flood protection, infrastructure investments and water conservation research critical to the Central Valley.

The Army Corps of Engineers opened Pine Flat Dam in 1954 and continues to operate it.

The visit included a briefing and roundtable with Telle, Maj. Gen. Jason Kelly, the deputy commanding general for civil and emergency operations, Army Corps Sacramento District officials and regional water stakeholders, followed by a site inspection and dam tour.

Discussions centered on advancing a project proposal to raise Pine Flat Dam by 12 feet. The project would add approximately 120,700 acre-feet of new storage capacity, enhance flood protection, increase hydropower generation and improve operational flexibility.

The project was authorized in the Water Resources Development Act of 2024 and has received broad bipartisan support. In June 2025, Fong led a bipartisan letter with Reps. Josh Gray, David Valadao and Jim Costa urging the Army Corps to begin the project well before fiscal year 2028.

The push for expansion follows the 2023 floods that caused more than $2 billion in damage across the San Joaquin Valley, prompting local water agencies and congressional partners to accelerate efforts to pursue the project.

Officials also reviewed other regional water projects, including the completed Success Reservoir Enlargement Project, which significantly improves flood protection and water storage reliability. Fong secured $14.6 million in federal funding to complete the project.

Additional discussions covered the proposed expansion of Buchanan Dam, which would increase capacity of Eastman Lake in Madera County by 50,000 acre-feet and provide an average of 8,750 acre-feet of additional surface water annually. Officials also discussed the Redbank and Fancher Creek Reservoir reoperation project, which could increase groundwater recharge capacity by up to 30,000 acre-feet during wet years.

Throughout the tour, officials discussed modernizing reservoir operations through tools such as forecast informed reservoir operations and airborne snow observatories, which allow for improved forecasting and safer water storage.

Local water advocates and officials who attended included David Merritt of Kings River Conservation District, Bill Stretch and Kassy Chauhan of Fresno Irrigation District, Brent Sunamoto of Fresno Metropolitan Flood Control, Brandon Tomlinson of Chowchilla Water District, Ryan Jacobsen of Fresno County Farm Bureau, Aaron Fukuda of Tulare Irrigation District and Steve Haugen of Kings River Water Association.

During the visit, Merritt also briefed Fong on the district’s planned Unit 4 hydroelectric expansion at Pine Flat. The upcoming $5 million project will add new generating capacity at the Pine Flat Hydroelectric Facility, enabling it to capture flows during low-water periods and continue producing power even in dry conditions.

Pine Flat Dam, located near Sanger, is one of the Central Valley’s primary water infrastructure assets. The reservoir currently has a capacity of approximately 1 million acre-feet.