The following is an update from the Department of Water Resources (DWR) about construction-related activities on the Lake Oroville Spillways Recovery project. DWR is committed to informing the public about the work being done to repair the damaged spillways and related impacts to roads, recreation, public access and surrounding infrastructure.
DWR is improving construction access to the gated (main) spillway for construction activities by using controlled blasting to remove portions of the exposed rock. Blasting is intermittent and will resume on Tuesday, May 9.
On Wednesday May 10, Feather River levels are expected to increase gradually from 7,750 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 27,750 cfs between 5:00 AM and 11:30 AM. Releases from the Lake Oroville main spillway will begin just after 9:00 AM and level off at 30,000 cfs.
These releases will lower Lake Oroville levels and continue making space for expected snowmelt. The gates are anticipated to close between May 20-25 to allow for critical construction work on the main spillway.
As part of the ongoing site preparation work that is underway in addition to the upcoming use of the main spillway, some soil and concrete may be dislodged from the spillway structure. This is expected and will not delay construction.
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