Lake Oroville Spillway Opened as Storms Push Reservoir Levels Higher
The California Department of Water Resources opened the main spillway at Lake Oroville on Monday as a flood-control measure following another round of storms that drenched Northern California over the weekend.
DWR has been steadily increasing releases from the Oroville-Thermalito Complex into the Feather River to create space in the reservoir for incoming runoff. Inflows into Lake Oroville are projected to reach between 50,000 and 70,000 cubic feet per second this week, prompting the use of the dam’s spillway to manage rising water levels.
Between mid-September and May, Lake Oroville is operated under federal flood-control rules established by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Those guidelines require maintaining enough storage capacity to safely capture storm runoff and snowmelt, protecting downstream communities from flooding.
Recent atmospheric river storms have rapidly boosted reservoir levels following a dry start to December. Lake Oroville’s surface elevation climbed roughly 58 feet between December 12 and December 31 and now sits at 826 feet, about 70% of its total capacity.
As of Monday, total releases to the Feather River are around 15,000 cubic feet per second, with flows potentially increasing to 25,000 cubic feet per second. DWR urges recreationists to remain cautious, as river conditions will be swift, cold, and subject to rapid change as storms continue.
