Lake Oroville Update - April 17, 2026

DWR Maintaining Releases for Flood Protection

With additional wet weather expected in the Feather River watershed, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) is maintaining water releases from Oroville Dam to provide flood protection for downstream communities. Releases are being made through the Hyatt Powerplant for power generation and Oroville Dam’s main spillway. DWR is conserving as much water as possible in Lake Oroville while continuing to meet federal guidelines for downstream flood protection and state environmental regulations. 

Between mid-September and June, DWR is required to operate Lake Oroville for flood control under federal Water Control Manual Guidelines set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. These federal regulations establish a set storage space that is reserved to capture inflows from rain and future snowmelt, while protecting downstream communities from damaging flood events through coordinated releases. To maintain this storage space, DWR conducts flood protection releases from Lake Oroville. Some of the water released from Oroville for flood control is captured downstream for beneficial uses by local landowners, communities, and the State Water Project. Releases from Oroville Dam also support Feather River habitat for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and other river species.

DWR coordinates releases to the Feather River closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other downstream water operators. DWR advises Feather River recreation users to remain alert as river flows are expected to be swift and cold and may change based on projected weather forecasts.

The information below reflects current reservoir level estimates. Forecasts can change quickly and may affect the estimates provided. 

• Current Oroville Reservoir Level: 889 feet elevation 

• Current Storage: 95 percent of capacity

• Total Releases to the Feather River: 5,000 cubic feet per second (cfs)

The Lake Oroville reservoir is the largest storage facility in the State Water Project, providing flood protection while supporting environmental and water delivery needs to 27 million Californians.

DWR continues to monitor lake levels, weather forecasts, and mountain snow levels to optimize water storage and allow for carryover storage into the following year. 

Feather River Fish Hatchery Fish Planting Activities

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) released 129,000 fall-run inland Chinook salmon fingerlings into Lake Oroville on April 15 at the Loafer Creek Boat Ramp to support recreational fishing opportunities. The fish, averaging approximately 4–6 inches in length, were raised at the Feather River Fish Hatchery and are triploid (sterile), meaning they cannot reproduce.

Inland program fish are raised separately from Chinook salmon and steelhead released into Central Valley rivers and the San Francisco Bay. Because Lake Oroville supplies water to the hatchery, all fish stocked in the lake must be disease-free and undergo rigorous testing to prevent the introduction of harmful pathogens, such as Infectious Hematopoietic Necrosis (IHN), which can cause significant fish loss.

CDFW also successfully completed Central Valley Chinook salmon Feather River releases between March 18 and April 13. These spring- and fall-run salmon, raised at the Feather River Fish Hatchery, averaged 3–4 inches in length at the time of release:

• Feather River at Gridley Boat Launch: 1,499,612 spring-run
• Feather River at Boyd’s Pump Boat Launch: 1,534,686 spring-run
• Feather River at Boyd’s Pump Boat Launch: 1,163,845 fall-run

Additional fall-run Chinook salmon will be released into the San Francisco Bay through early June as part of normal operations.

The Feather River Fish Hatchery is a State Water Project facility built in the late 1960s by the California Department of Water Resources to offset impacts to fish migration caused by the construction of Oroville Dam. DWR owns and maintains the facility and provides funding to CDFW for fish spawning, rearing, and stocking operations.

Golden Mussel Inspection Program

DWR has moved its invasive mussel inspection/decontamination facilities at the North Thermalito Forebay to the paved RV parking lot near the entrance. Watercraft owners should turn right once past the main entrance. Signage is posted to help direct traffic. More details about DWR’s mussel inspection program are available at water.ca.gov/mussels.

Watercraft Inspection Location/Decontamination Services

North Thermalito Forebay at Garden Drive and HWY 70 in Oroville 

Hours of operation: Daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Sealed Vessel Launching 

Lake Oroville

Ramp hours: Daily from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

• Spillway  
• Bidwell Canyon

Ramp hours: Daily from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

• Lime Saddle
• Loafer Creek/Loafer Point

Thermalito Afterbay 

Ramp hours: Daily from 1.5 hours before sunrise to 1 hour after sunset

• Monument Hill

Thermalito Forebay

Ramp Hours: Daily from 8 a.m. to sunset

• North Forebay (Non-motorized vessels only)

Feather River Fish Monitoring Station

DWR resumed operations of the Feather River fish monitoring station on March 4, 2026 to capture the return of spring-run Chinook salmon. Monitoring was temporarily suspended at the end of December 2025 due to anticipated high flows in the Feather River. Upstream migrating fish totals between March 4 through April 13, 2026 are:  

• Spring-run Chinook salmon: 975
• Steelhead: -4 (most likely kelts moving downstream)
• To see previous year data, visit CalFish.org.

Current Lake Operations

Lake Oroville is at 889 feet elevation and storage is approximately 3.26 million acre-feet (MAF), which is 95 percent of its total capacity and 124 percent of the historical average.

Feather River flows are at 650 cfs through the City of Oroville with releases from the Thermalito Afterbay River Outlet at 4,350 cfs for a total Feather River release of 5,000 cfs downstream. DWR continues to assess Feather River releases daily.

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 11:59 p.m. on 4/16/2026.