NEWS Lake Oroville Situation

ragnarok1968

Well-Known Member
I have my dad and grandson who live in the Chico Area just a bit north of Oroville. The sad: the spillway is Earth, so a portion of the dam is Earth with no concrete support. the concrete portion is in no danger. they are experiencing very noticeable erosion.

Live news feed (KRCR TV out of Chico) Live Stream - KRCR

the feed is a replay for now. But looking at the upper left of the video will say either "Live" or "replay". just if you are curious or have family.

current road closures;
We have an updated list of road closures as of Monday morning:

-Highway 99 is closed from Durham-Pentz Road to south of Yuba City
-Highway 70 is closed from Highway 149 to south of Yuba City
-All other roadways below the Oroville Spillway elevation in Oroville, Thermalito, Biggs and Gridley south to the Butte County line
-Motorists traveling south from the Chico area are asked to take Highway 32 to I-5 south
-Motorists are asked to avoid roadways west of Chico that are typically used to access I-5 south, due to flooding. That includes Sacramento Avenue, River Road, Ord Ferry Road, Aguas Frias Road and 7 Mile Lane.
 
current weather situation:

the dam is receding at the moment, but a 7-10 day stretch of rain is forecast for late, late wednesday night/ Early Thursday morning. So this is going to get much, much worse. the sheriff of Butte county where my dad lives stated a 30 foot wall of water is what they are expecting if this spillway collapsing.
 
I am posting a pic via google maps: the red indicated oroville and then the red arrows indicate the waterflow should the damn break

iei5q1.png
 
Update: 2/13/2017 1:52pm PST

Oroville Dam: Feds and state officials ignored warnings 12 years ago

More than a decade ago, federal and state officials and some of California’s largest water agencies rejected concerns that the massive earthen spillway at Oroville Dam — at risk of collapse Sunday night and prompting the evacuation of 185,000 people — could erode during heavy winter rains and cause a catastrophe

San Jose Mercury News - Top Trending Video

Three environmental groups — the Friends of the River, the Sierra Club and the South Yuba Citizens League — filed a motion with the federal government on Oct. 17, 2005, as part of Oroville Dam’s relicensing process, urging federal officials to require that the dam’s emergency spillway be armored with concrete, rather than remain as an earthen hillside.

The groups filed the motion with FERC, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. They said that the dam, built and owned by the state of California, and finished in 1968, did not meet modern safety standards because in the event of extreme rain and flooding, fast-rising water would overwhelm the main concrete spillway, then flow down the emergency spillway, and that could cause heavy erosion that would create flooding for communities downstream, but also could cause a failure, known as “loss of crest control.”
 
I thought that the Federal Govt, may own a part of this project? Thanks for the reply I shall look into this State Claim.
Trails
well yes. The state owns the dam. However if the federal government declares it a national disaster, then I think the state receives funds to augment the state system. I'm not 100% sure on that but it would make sense. Are you ok? that includes your family.

Also do you have flood insurance. from what you're asking, I'm assuming that you are somewhere along that Feather river water system
 
well yes. The state owns the dam. However if the federal government declares it a national disaster, then I think the state receives funds to augment the state system. I'm not 100% sure on that but it would make sense. Are you ok? that includes your family.

Also do you have flood insurance. from what you're asking, I'm assuming that you are somewhere along that Feather river water system
No Flood insurance and I am inquiring on behalf of other people, just heard that the levee above Tyler Island is expected to be breached soon. Thanks for asking and your concerns.
trails
 
Live updates: Evacuations below Oroville Dam remain in effect as officials try to make repairs before new storms

Live updates: Evacuations below Oroville Dam remain in effect as officials try to make repairs before new storms

More than 100,000 people were told to evacuate from areas near Oroville Dam in Northern California on Sunday because officials feared that an emergency spillway could fail, sending huge amounts of water into the Feather River, which runs through downtown Oroville, and other waterways. But by late Sunday night, officials said the immediate threat had passed.

  • The mass evacuations cap a week of frantic efforts to prevent flooding as the reservoir behind the United States' tallest dam reached capacity and its main spillway was severely damaged.
  • Gov. Jerry Brown issued an emergency order late Sunday to bolster the state's response.
 
it's dropping under the crest of the spillway. However, they are expecting a week to a week and a half of rain coming starting Wednesday night early Thursday morning.
 
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