Lake Oroville is down 40 feet from the start of the summer when the water level was at capacity thanks to a string of heavy winter storms. The storms also boosted the snowpack, allowing for consistent and often substantial runoff into the lake. Earlier this year, the California Department of Water Resources, which oversees the lake as well as the Oroville Dam, began releasing water from the reservoir’s main spillway in an effort to keep up with the inflows.