With the recent weather patterns and the heavy rain throughout the area, federal officials are planning to hold off releasing water from Lake Mendocino due to continued high water flow downstream from the Russian River. Nick Malasavage, Chief of the Operations and Readiness Division of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers district headquarters in San Francisco says that while Lake Mendocino has reached its capacity for water storage, there is room to hold more water for flood control. Malasavage points out the Corps’ goal is to never contribute to downstream flooding.