Dredging continues below the Oroville Dam flood control spillway to deepen the channel in the diversion pool leading to the Hyatt Powerplant in Oroville, Calif. on March 11, 2017. Crews working 24 hours per day have removed approximately 897,000 cubic yards of sediment and debris below the spillway.
Kelly M. Grow/ California Department of Water
Resources

Oroville, California March 13, 2017 – The Department of Water Resources (DWR) continues to increase flows to the Feather River.  With inflows ranging from approximately 14,000 to 20,000 cubic feet per second (cfs), Lake Oroville has risen to 861.5 feet elevation.  Hyatt Powerplant continues to discharge 12,900 cfs through the 5 operational turbine generators.  Flows to the Feather River are being released through the Thermalito Diversion Dam and Thermalito Afterbay River Outlet.  The low flow section of the Feather River (the river channel through Oroville) is currently at 5,200 cfs.  The total flow to the Feather River is currently 13,700 cfs.

DWR expects to resume using the flood control spillway to discharge approximately 40,000 cfs to 50,000 cfs on or around March 17, with operations dependent upon weather, lake inflow, and other factors.  Due to the potential for increased outflow to the Feather River, DWR advises the public to avoid the river.

The flood control spillway was last used February 27, and work has been underway to reinforce and protect it from further erosion when it is used again.  Debris removal will continue this week, 24 hours per day.  Approximately 1,075,000 cubic yards of sediment and debris below the flood control spillway have been removed to date.