Oroville Dam releases water as anticipated storms approach
(FOX40.COM) — In anticipation of the week’s coming storms, the California Department of Water Resources began releasing water from Lake Oroville on Tuesday morning, according to DWR.
Dam operators began manually releasing water at 8 a.m. on Tuesday at a rate of 3,875 cubic feet of water per second and are scheduled to hit their max release rate of 12,000 cfs at noon on Wednesday.
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These releases along the main spillway are being conducted as a flood control measure and mark the second consecutive winter where the spillway is being used for flood prevention.
As of 7 a.m. on Wednesday, Oroville was at 76% of its total capacity, which is around 2.7 million acre-feet-of-water.
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That capacity is 132% of the reservoir’s historical average for Jan. 31 and is also over its capacity at this same time in 2023.
In 2023, the dam’s main spillway saw 2.37 million acre-feet-of-water run down it and into the Feather River at release rates reaching 36,000 cfs.
Many of California’s largest reservoirs remain well above 100% of their historic average storage levels despite a relatively uneventful winter compared to 2023.
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