Oroville Dam is the centerpiece and largest water storage
facility of the State Water Project. Located about 70 miles north
of Sacramento at the Feather River confluence, Oroville Dam
creates a reservoir that can hold 3.5 million acre-feet of water.
Features such as a fish barrier dam and pool at Oroville Dam made
the SWP one of the first major water projects built with
environmental protections as a major consideration.
Besides storing water, the dam also protects downstream residents
from the floodprone Feather River—the main feeder of the SWP— and
provides major water recreation facilities such as boating,
fishing and camping.
California counties can’t seek to unwind a state-federal
settlement of a lawsuit over hydroelectric licensing at the
US’s largest earthen dam, but they can challenge the adequacy
of a report a state agency uses without running afoul of
federal law preemption, a divided California Supreme Court
ruled Monday. In so doing, the justices in part reversed an
appellate ruling that the Federal Power Act preempts state
court challenges to an environmental impact report conducted to
comply with the federal Clean Water Act. … Concerns
about the Oroville Dam’s stability were magnified following a
spectacular failure of the dam’s spillway after heavy rains in
2017, which led to evacuations downstream.
The state Supreme Court allowed local governments and
conservation groups Monday to ask the state for further safety
measures and environmental safeguards at the Oroville Dam
despite federal authority to license the facility, where a
breach and spill forced 188,000 people to evacuate their homes
in 2017. The ruling will not interrupt operations at the
nation’s tallest dam, a 770-foot structure on the Feather River
in Butte County…. Oroville Dam, which stores water for
millions of Californians, is operated by the state under a
federal license whose 50-year term expired in 2007, but it has
remained open under annual licensing agreements since then.
A recent earthquake in the Oroville area has many wondering how
stable the Oroville Dam is. The Department of Water Resources
told Action News Now the Dam is in good condition and was not
damaged by the 4.2 earthquakes. Many people in Oroville
said they’ve experienced several earthquakes but are always on
alert when a fire or earthquake happens, especially after the
Oroville Spillway Crisis in 2017. The crisis pushed nearly
190,0000 people to evacuate but the DWR said the Dam can
withstand a lot and is constantly being evaluated in case an
emergency breaks out.
Often touted as the breadbasket of the world, California’s San
Joaquin Valley is the most agriculturally productive region on
Earth with over 250 different crops grown. But the area is also
a well-irrigated desert, and years of below-average rain and
snowfall have dried up its relatively few water sources. So
far, farmers in the region have fallowed approximately 100,000
acres of farmland. Experts believe that by 2040, drought may
force up to 500,000 acres to be fallowed. … The Public Policy
Institute of California (PPIC) released two reports and held a
webinar Tuesday to discuss both fallowing of land and the
resulting dust pollution as well as a solution: dryland
farming.
The California Department of Water Resources has begun its
nine-year project to replace the spillway gate hoists at the
Oroville Dam. Workers began the process of reverse-engineering
the hoists Tuesday to open the door for replacing one per year
in a project expected to be complete in 2031. Scott Turnquist,
DWR’s engineering branch manager for the Oroville field
division, said the project is the result of years worth of
planning in an effort to have large-scale maintenance on the
dam.
The Oroville Dam is getting some much-needed construction. On
Monday, the California Department of Water Resources (DWR)
announced it was going to begin work on radial gates at the
Oroville Dam spillway. Today, KRCR’s Anwar Stetson had a chance
to talk to the project’s lead engineer. The Oroville Dam Crisis
is still heavy on the minds of Butte County locals, so
maintaining the dam is of the utmost importance.
Explore the Sacramento River and its tributaries through a scenic
landscape while learning about the issues associated with a
key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of
California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State
Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.
Land and waterway managers labored
hard over the course of a century to control California’s unruly
rivers by building dams and levees to slow and contain their
water. Now, farmers, environmentalists and agencies are undoing
some of that work as part of an accelerating campaign to restore
the state’s major floodplains.
This tour guided participants on a virtual exploration of the Sacramento River and its tributaries and learn about the issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project.
The deadliest and most destructive
wildfire in California history had a severe impact on the water
system in the town of Paradise. Participants on our Oct. 2-4
Northern California
Tour will hear from Kevin Phillips, general manager of
Paradise Irrigation District, on the scope of the damages, the
obstacles to recovery and the future of the water district.
The Camp Fire destroyed 90 percent of the structures in Paradise,
and 90 percent of the irrigation district’s ratepayer base. The
fire did not destroy the irrigation district’s water storage or
treatment facilities, but it did melt plastic pipes, releasing
contaminants into parts of the system and prompting do-not-drink
advisories to water customers.
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape as participants learned about the
issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of
California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State
Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. Tour
participants got an on-site update of Oroville Dam spillway
repairs.
This tour explored the Sacramento River and its tributaries
through a scenic landscape as participants learned about the
issues associated with a key source for the state’s water supply.
All together, the river and its tributaries supply 35 percent of
California’s water and feed into two major projects: the State
Water Project and the federal Central Valley Project. Tour
participants got an on-site update of repair efforts on the
Oroville Dam spillway.
In 2017, it is likely that no other water story grabbed as many
headlines in California and across the country as the flood
incident at Oroville Dam, the centerpiece of the State Water Project and
its largest water storage facility.
On our upcoming Northern California
Tour, we will spend time at the Oroville Dam visitor’s
center and meet with California Department of Water Resources
staff. You’ll see drone footage from February’s flood
incident, learn the engineering background on what led to it, and
hear about plans to stabilize the spillway before the next winter
storms and to finalize repairs by 2018.
One of the wettest years in California history that ended a
record five-year drought has rejuvenated the call for new storage
to be built above and below ground.
In a state that depends on large surface water reservoirs to help
store water before moving it hundreds of miles to where it is
used, a wet year after a long drought has some people yearning
for a place to sock away some of those flood flows for when they
are needed.
California Natural Resources Agency Secretary John Laird said
Tuesday that the February crisis with the broken spillway at
Oroville Dam offers an “important opportunity” to assess the
safety of the more than 1,400 dams in the state.
“We really want to use the focus on this to look at the issue of
dam safety in California,” he said during a hearing of the Senate
Natural Resources and Water Committee. “We have the best
inspection program of the 50 states but it is clear we can do
better.”
Work crews repairing Oroville Dam’s damaged emergency spillway
are dumping 1,200 tons of rock each hour and using shotcrete to
stabilize the hillside slope, an official with the Department of
Water Resources told the California Water Commission today.
The pace of work is “round the clock,” said Kasey Schimke,
assistant director of DWR’s legislative affairs office.
This 25-minute documentary-style DVD, developed in partnership
with the California Department of Water Resources, provides an
excellent overview of climate change and how it is already
affecting California. The DVD also explains what scientists
anticipate in the future related to sea level rise and
precipitation/runoff changes and explores the efforts that are
underway to plan and adapt to climate.
Water as a renewable resource is depicted in this 18×24 inch
poster. Water is renewed again and again by the natural
hydrologic cycle where water evaporates, transpires from plants,
rises to form clouds, and returns to the earth as precipitation.
Excellent for elementary school classroom use.
The 24-page Layperson’s Guide to California Water provides an
excellent overview of the history of water development and use in
California. It includes sections on flood management; the state,
federal and Colorado River delivery systems; Delta issues; water
rights; environmental issues; water quality; and options for
stretching the water supply such as water marketing and
conjunctive use. New in this 10th edition of the guide is a
section on the human need for water.
A new look for our most popular product! And it’s the perfect
gift for the water wonk in your life.
Our 24×36 inch California Water Map is widely known for being the
definitive poster that shows the integral role water plays in the
state. On this updated version, it is easier to see California’s
natural waterways and man-made reservoirs and aqueducts
– including federally, state and locally funded
projects – the wild and scenic rivers system, and
natural lakes. The map features beautiful photos of
California’s natural environment, rivers, water projects,
wildlife, and urban and agricultural uses and the
text focuses on key issues: water supply, water use, water
projects, the Delta, wild and scenic rivers and the Colorado
River.
Oroville Dam is the centerpiece of
the State Water
Project (SWP) and its largest water storage facility.
Located about 70 miles north of Sacramento at the confluence of
the three forks of the Feather River, Oroville Dam is an
earthfill dam (consisting of an impervious core surrounded by
sands, gravels and rockfill materials) that creates a
reservoir that can hold 3.5 million acre-feet of water.
This printed copy of Western Water examines California’s drought
– its impact on water users in the urban and agricultural sector
and the steps being taken to prepare for another dry year should
it arrive.
