- Lake County News reports
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Oroville Dam update: Department of Water Resources begins outflow reduction, repairs continue
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – On Thursday, the California Department of Water Resources said it had begun reducing outflow from the Oroville Dam as part of the ongoing repairs to the dam’s spillway.
The agency said that while construction crews continued work to remediate the emergency spillway’s erosion, water flow from the flood control spillway was reduced incrementally from 100,000 to 80,000 cubic feet per second.
The outflow reduction allowed crews to begin removing debris from the diversion pool below the spillway, officials said.
The Department of Water Resources said that removal of debris from the diversion pool further protects, safeguards and provides for the eventual reoperation of the Hyatt power plant.
At the same time, the reduced outflow still provides for the reduction of reservoir levels within the timeframes prescribed by the Department of Water Resources.
State officials said Thursday that the reservoir’s level has so far been reduced by 36 feet to accommodate inflow from upcoming storms. Inflows from forecasted inclement weather are not expected to exceed current outflows.
The trail system directly affected by the damaged spillway include the Brad Freeman and Dan Beebe trails; officials said those trails have been closed. Launch ramps serving the lake also remain closed.
California State Park Rangers are providing roving patrols due to a large number of contacts in the closed area, officials said.
On Sunday, 188,000 people in Butte, Sutter and Yolo counties were ordered to evacuate due to concerns about the emergency spillway failing. That evacuation order later was changed to a warning, according to state and local officials.