Lake Oroville - CA

This illustration shows the river valve outlet system located deep inside Oroville Dam. It’s an additional means of releasing water that was not in operation when heavy storm runoff began to fill the reservoir rapidly in January. It consists of two 6-foot diameter pipes, each operated by a valve, inside a 36-foot diameter tunnel. Image courtesy Calif. Dept. of Water Resources.

Oroville Dam on February 27, the aftermath of high runoff from several atmospheric river storms. The damaged main spillway is shown at center and the emergency spillway at left. The river outlets are located at the base of the dam on the far right. Photo

Dredging continues to clear debris and make room for all that water! Photo courtesy of DWR.

Oroville Dam Spillway concrete section eroded, Photos courtesy of Department of Water Resources.

Looking southwest at the dam. Photo by author.

Anglers launching at the Spillway Ramp. Photo courtesy of Jason Haley