(KTXL) — Starting Friday morning select roadways near the Oroville Dam Spillway will be closed as water released from the reservoir will increase, according to the California Department of Water Resources.
– Video above: Trash and debris in local waterways
Oro Dam Boulevard East between Rusty Dusty Road and Canyon Drive in Butte County was closed at 9 a.m. on Friday and will remain closed until releases from the main spillway are reduced.
The approximately three miles of roadway that have been closed are directly across from the main spillway at the dam and head east towards Oroville Dam.
On March 10, the main spillway at Oroville Reservoir opened for the first since April 2019 and began with releasing 15,000 cubic feet of water per second.
Storms from earlier in the year swelled the reservoir’s level behind the dam to 115% higher than average levels for the given time of year, according to the DWR.
Since March 10, water has continued to flow out of the spillway at fluctuating rates as operators monitor incoming water from recent rainfall and continued snowmelt.
Storms between March 11 and March 13 continued to increase reservoir levels and on Tuesday the DWR announced they would increase water releases to 20,000 cubic feet of water per second starting on Wednesday.
More wet weather and runoff in the Sierra caused dam operators to increase the release flow to 25,000 cubic feet of water per second on Thursday.
This most recent increase in the amount of water being released caused DWR to make the decision to close Oro Dam Boulevard East until release rates reduce again.
“Releases from Lake Oroville are being made in coordination with the United States Army Corps of Engineers and downstream water operators for flood control protection to downstream communities,” the DWR wrote in a tweet.
Water released from Lake Oroville is sent into the Feather River which meets with the Sacramento River near Verona in Sutter County.