Northern California water managers are preparing for a stretch of wet weather by releasing water from several major reservoirs this week. At 8 a.m. Wednesday, the California Department of Water Resources began releasing water down the main spillway at Oroville Dam. Initial releases were at 6,000 cubic feet per second. By Wednesday afternoon, water was being released at 12,000 cubic feet per second. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation also began releases on Wednesday. Shasta and Keswick Dams were both releasing water at 15,000 cubic feet per second. Water is also being released from New Melones Reservoir at 1,500 cubic feet per second. … Each of these reservoirs is currently holding more water than average for this point in the season. With a couple of rounds of significant rain in the forecast, water managers are making releases to maintain that water storage as runoff comes in.

Related articles: 

• Action News Now: Water being released from Shasta Dam ahead of rainy weather in the coming days
• Los Angeles Times: Opinion - California isn’t prepared for turbocharged storms like the ones we’re getting this week
• Fox 40 – Sacramento: Oroville Dam releases water as anticipated storms approach
• ABC 10 – Sacramento: For incoming California storms, watch the rivers
• California Department of Water Resources: Watch – Oroville Dam release