Lake Oroville Update - August 9, 2024

DWR Holds Emergency Preparedness Exercise

DWR’s Oroville Field Division hosted an emergency preparedness exercise Aug. 7 for staff and local emergency management agency partners including the Butte County Sheriff’s Office and Cal OES. The exercise included a review of the Oroville-Thermalito Complex facilities, inundation maps, and an overview of DWR’s incident command team structure which follows National Incident Management System (NIMS) guidelines established by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). 

 

Public safety is DWR’s top priority as a critical infrastructure operator. This exercise reinforces DWR’s commitment to enhancing emergency preparedness and maintaining relationships and collaboration with local emergency partners. A second, more in-depth emergency exercise is scheduled later this month in which DWR staff and local emergency management partners will respond to a mock emergency scenario. DWR leads emergency preparedness trainings on a yearly basis to ensure Oroville Field Division staff readiness for any type of emergency or incident.

 

Spend the Day at the Thermalito Forebay

The Thermalito Forebay provides a unique recreation experience compared to other geographic areas of the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area. Its relatively stable water elevation level, proximity to City of Oroville amenities, and developed day use facilities provide an experience that is much different from Lake Oroville.

 

The North Thermalito Forebay boat ramp and day use area covers roughly half of the Forebay’s 630 surface acres and hosts non-motorized boating with a swim beach, a large picnic area with barbecue grills, and abundant shade trees. This area also has restroom facilities, including showers, and drinking fountains.

 

Also at the North Forebay, the Forebay Aquatic Center promotes education, recreation, boating, water safety, water sports, and tourism. The Aquatic Center offers a wide range of rental equipment, from kayaks and canoes, to hydrobikes and pedal boats, which can be rented by the hour or day.

 

At the South Thermalito Forebay day use area, a two-lane boat ramp provides power boating access for recreation and fishing. The South Forebay also has a shaded picnic area with barbecue facilities, a sandy swim beach, a vault restroom facility, and a fish cleaning station. The Forebay shoreline also provides swimming opportunities to beat the heat.

 

Boating on Lake Oroville

The summer months invite everyone to get outside and enjoy the benefits of longer daylight hours. With summer temperatures largely remaining in the triple digits, Lake Oroville is the perfect place to cool off with surface level water temperatures ranging between 75 and 82 degrees. With over 15,000 surface acres of water and 167 miles of shoreline, the state’s second largest reservoir provides ample opportunities for numerous watercraft activities including skiing, sailing, wakeboarding, swimming, or paddleboarding. 

 

Along the shoreline, several Day Use Areas offer shaded picnic tables, barbeque grills, and restroom facilities for those seeking a break from nonstop water activities. Visitors looking to spend more than a day relaxing on the lake can rent houseboats from local marinas, stay at one of three full-service campgrounds at the lake, or boat in to secluded floating or land-based campsites that can be reserved through the California Department of Parks and Recreation. Reserve a camping site at https://reservecalifornia.com or contact State Parks at (800) 444-7275. 

 

Lake Oroville is also one of California’s best fishing spots. The lake provides both warm-water and cold-water fisheries and is a popular destination for bass tournaments. The marinas at Bidwell Canyon and Lime Saddle are open daily and provide a variety of services including a convenience store, gas, boat rentals, and more.

 

Oroville Recreation

DWR, State Parks, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) maintain over 92 miles of trails in the Oroville area. An interactive map of recreation facilities, including open trails and their permitted uses (hike, bike, horse, multi), is available on DWR’s Lake Oroville Recreation webpage. A paper trail map is available at various locations, including most entrance kiosks and the Lake Oroville Visitor Center.

 

Staffed by knowledgeable guides, the Lake Oroville Visitor Center features interpretive displays on Oroville Dam, area geology, wildlife and habitat, hydroelectric power, and cultural and historical artifacts. View videos in the theater about the construction of Oroville Dam, walk or hike along nearby trails, and visit the 47-foot-tall observation tower that provides unsurpassed panoramic views of surrounding areas. Free guided tours for school and community groups are available by reservation. Parking and admission to the Visitor Center are free.

 

Upstream migrating fish totals through the Feather River Fish Monitoring Station between January 1 and July 31 are:  

• Spring-run Chinook salmon (March 1 through June 30): 7,121
• Fall-run Chinook salmon (July 1 through present): 1,815
• Steelhead: 901

 

Current Lake Operations

Lake Oroville is at 844 feet elevation and storage is approximately 2.64 million acre-feet (MAF), which is 77 percent of its total capacity and 116 percent of the historical average.

 

Feather River flows are at 1,500 cfs through the City of Oroville with 6,500 cfs being released from the Thermalito Afterbay River Outlet (Outlet) for a total Feather River release of 8,000 cfs downstream.  DWR continues to assess Feather River releases daily. 

 

Releases from Oroville Dam’s main spillway ceased earlier this summer, but water is still being released through the Hyatt Powerplant for power generation, water deliveries, and environmental requirements. When the main spillway is not in use, water may still be seen on the main spillway outlet as the seals on the eight radial gates are not designed to be watertight. The gate seals do not play a role in the structural integrity of the gates. Visitors to Oroville Dam may also notice minor amounts of water flowing from drains built into the emergency spillway. This is normal and expected given the emergency spillway design. The dam and emergency spillway continue to operate as intended.

 

The public can track precipitation, snow, reservoir levels and more at the California Data Exchange Center. The Lake Oroville gage station is identified as “ORO.”

 

All data as of midnight 8/8/2024.

 

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