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  • Intense effort to fortify Lake Oroville continues in rough weather

    The water level at Lake Oroville continues to drop as state officials press on with the effort to drain the reservoir in light of a forecast calling for rain through Monday.

Intense effort to fortify Lake Oroville continues in rough weather

The water level at Lake Oroville continues to drop as state officials press on with the effort to drain the reservoir in light of a forecast calling for rain through Monday.
Ryan Lillis The Sacramento Bee
Bird's eye view: What the Oroville Dam spillway looks like now (Sept. 6, 2017)

Water & Drought

Bird's eye view: What the Oroville Dam spillway looks like now (Sept. 6, 2017)

Repairs continue at Oroville Dam. Anchors are placed, side walls are framed, and the first structural slab erected on the upper spillway. On February 7, 2017, dam operators released a gusher of water down the spillway to reduce water levels at Lake Oroville. The heavy flows coming down the spillway apparently exploited weak points in the concrete, and one section of the concrete chute was lifted up, creating a giant crater underneath. The spillway is now under repair in a race to finish before the next rainy season.

Fly over the Oroville Dam spillway as repair works continues into September

Water & Drought

Fly over the Oroville Dam spillway as repair works continues into September

Oroville Dam spillway construction is progressing at a fast pace, according to the Department of Water Resources, as large volumes of concrete are placed in multiple areas of the flood control spillway throughout the day. The large void in the central area of the chute, shown in this video posted Sept. 2, 2017, is being filled with roller-compacted concrete, while leveling concrete is poured in the upper chute.

Oroville Dam: See steel beams being installed on spillway walls (Aug. 22, 2017)

Water & Drought

Oroville Dam: See steel beams being installed on spillway walls (Aug. 22, 2017)

Steel beams are installed for the upper spillway walls at Oroville Dam during the week of August 22, 2017 in this video showing progress of the repair work. Roller-compacted concrete continues going in on the middle spillway. Crews also prepare the area between the upper and lower chute for the concrete by filling the crevasses with dental concrete. Rebar mats are set for structural concrete on the lower spillway.

Watch the labor intensive work going on at Oroville Dam spillway

Water & Drought

Watch the labor intensive work going on at Oroville Dam spillway

As work continues on the Lake Oroville Dam spillways (Aug. 8, 2017), concrete is poured into 30- to 80-foot holes to create the underground cut-off wall downslope of the emergency spillway. Crews continue to assemble and erect electrical towers to reroute power lines away from the spillway. Rebar is installed for the upper spillway walls and structural concrete, concrete is poured and graded, and more stay-forms are installed.