Lake Oroville Community Update: July 30, 2019

Lake Level

The current elevation of Oroville reservoir is 873 feet, and water releases from Hyatt Powerplant are approximately 9,200 cubic feet per second (cfs). Releases to the river from Lake Oroville supplement the natural flows of the Feather River to meet environmental needs, salinity standards, and south of Delta State Water Project exports. Coordinated releases from the federal Central Valley Project and the State Water Project from Lake Oroville help to balance conditions throughout the Sacramento Valley watershed.

Spillway Boat Ramp Reopening

To ensure a positive and safe experience for visitors DWR, in consultation with Parks and CHP, has decided to reschedule the reopening of the Spillway Boat Ramp until early to mid-August. Over the next week, state partners will test technical systems and perform a dry run to ensure full functionality. Based on this work, state partners will provide an updated target date for reopening the boat ramp facility. Once reopened, the ramp will be available from Friday-Sunday 5 a.m. – 11 p.m. Security enhancements involve many of the improvements to the spillway facilities. These enhancements, which include additional inspection, surveillance and barrier systems, may introduce a few additional processes; however, DWR has designed these systems with our security partners to ensure a safe and positive visitor experience.

CalOES Submits Oroville Spillways Reimbursement Appeal

Last week, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services submitted DWR’s Oroville spillways reimbursement appeal to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. To date, FEMA has approved reimbursement of $337.4 million. For more information check out the news release at, https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2019/July-19/CalOES-Submits-Oroville-Spillways-Reimbursement-Appeal.

Road Closures Near Oroville Dam Lifted

Paving work on Glen Drive and Oroville Dam Blvd. East was completed earlier than scheduled. Oroville Dam Blvd. East opened to traffic at 12:30 p.m. Monday. The paving work repaired the roadway surface impacted by the installation of a new fiber optic conduit running from DWR’s Oroville Field Division to the Hyatt Powerplant.

Feather Fish Hatchery Maintenance Closure

As a reminder, the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville will remain closed to the public for approximately two more weeks for routine maintenance and inspections. Check out the news release for more details, at https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2019/July-19/Feather-River-Fish-Hatchery-to-Close-for-Maintenance.

Public Access to Top of Dam

Walkers, joggers and bicyclists continue to enjoy access to the pedestrian lane on the lakeside of Dam Crest Road from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., seven days a week, as well as parking at the Upper Overlook.

For safety considerations, the public is not able to drive across the top of dam. For more information, visit: https://water.ca.gov/News/News-Releases/2019/June/Oroville-Dam-Crest-Road-Reopening-to-Public.

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