SACRAMENTO COUNTY, Calif. — A very wet winter is leading to quickly melting snowpack and rising rivers. Now more than ever, officials are warning people this summer to be careful of the fast moving and cold water.
Though the water is still deterring many from fully jumping into local water ways, the Sacramento County Sheriff's Office said they've already responded to multiple rescues, including two in Sacramento and San Joaquin counties this week.
Now, newer technology hopes to help them in their rescue efforts even further.
Currently, patrol boats are already equipped with side scan sonar, which beams sound waves off the shore to try and detect any objects in the water. The sheriff's office said that is only one layer of technology, and it doesn't give a lot of details about what is underwater.
With towable sonar and ROV equipment, deputies are getting a better look under the murky waters.
"We can actually tow behind the boat and get it in 40 feet of water. We can drop this all the way five feet off the bottom of the water, and we're going to get a much better detailed image of what we're looking at" said Deputy Mike Keegan.
The sonar can detect an object, like a vehicle, underwater. Specialty cameras on a ROV are able to get up-close views of anyone who may need to be rescued.
"You can actually swim around kind of like an underwater drone and get different views of whatever you're looking for. And we can see that on a TV screen" said Keegan.
The sheriff's office has had these tools for about 2 years, bought them with grants and said they are expected to be very useful this year with the abundance of water and debris in the waterways.
In the unfortunate event an emergency goes from a rescue to a recovery, this technology may be crucial in locating a body.
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