Oroville Dam Spillway Release & Feather River | March 2011

On March 16, 2011, Oroville Dam began releasing excess water from Lake Oroville for the first time in nearly five years, in an effort to decrease unseasonably high lake levels, and equilize the rate of high lake inflow from recent snowmelt combined with the overwhelming rate of rainfall runoff from several huge storms that swept through the area. Some areas of the northern Sierra Nevada mountains received upwards of 15 to 20 inches of rainfall during the first three weeks of March, in addition to several feet of snow that had fallen in some areas.

Flows on the Feather River below Oroville Dam were considerably higher than normal on Wednesday March 16th. I was on scene during this first day of water releases to capture shots both below and above the spillway at Oroville Dam as well as the increased river flow through the mid section of the city of Oroville. On March 15th, the release to the Feather River at Oroville Dam was increased from about 700 cubic feet per second (CFS) to around 10,000 CFS of water. Another series of large storms that approached northern California during the weekend of March 18th would cause another increase to the water releases late that day, and by March 19th, the release to the Feather River was at 18,000 CFS. The river would rise another 2 to 3 feet after this video was shot.

Inflow to Lake Oroville during this time was around 45,000 CFS, significantly less than that which was recorded during December 1996 and January 1997. During the middle of December 1996, 30 inches of rain fell in the Feather River Canyon and surrounding areas of the state, causing massive 100-year flooding and the New Years Day flood of 1997, inundating Highway 70 from Oroville to Quincy and stretches of the Union Pacific right-of-way through the canyon. The Feather River's water flow clocked in at 250,000 cubic feet per second. Many rock and mudslides also buried the railroad in areas of the Feather River Canyon, and several sections of the right-of-way had to be completely reshaped and rebuilt. It would be well into spring of 1997 before the FRC was reopened to the flow of commerce.

During the 1997 floods, Lake Oroville was near full capacity, and the spillway was in full release. Many sections of Oroville were flooded and the northern Sacramento Valley was overwhelmed with water. Other dams including Shasta on the Sacramento River and Folsom on the American River were also releasing at maximum capability, inducing countless levee breaches downstream and widespread destruction to homes and property. 1997 was one of the worst floods in California's history.

Fortunately, however, this event was just a mere reminder in stark contrast to mother nature's fury, and what can and has happened. This was only a small example of the flooding in the 90's. The flooding of 2006 was also somewhat worse than this, threatening damage to the levee system throughout the vicinity.

I was not lucky enough to have personally witnessed or capture on film what was taking place in the Feather River Canyon on January 1, 1997 and the days and weeks that led up to the event and the days and weeks that followed the disaster, but for a few brave souls of Quincy, California, it was a thrilling reality:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NXo7k6b-ixo
Thanks to Kevin Mallory and family for capturing these amazing moments on video.
_________________________

I hope you enjoy this presentation.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• oroville
• dam
• spillway
• lake
• floods
• flooding
• feather
• river
• high
• water
• 2011
• december
• 1996
• sierra
• nevada
• mountains
• sacramento
• valley
• shasta
• california
• union
• pacific
• railroad
• hwy
• 70
• devastation

[coler7895]

that would be fun to slide down but it would also hurt once you hit the concrete slabs at the bottom... the concrete slabs are there to keep the water from running on the other side were the camera was placed... if the slabs broke and the water did get across i bet there wouldn't be much of a city/town left.. but we all know that won't happen soon... so keep on making these vids i think you are doing good with the camera shots. :)

[C60AC]

@coler7895 The "concrete slabs" at the bottom of the main flow are called current breakers and they are there to create a hydraulic jump in order to prevent erosion below the spillway. That much direct force of water shooting down the structure could cause excess erosion to the bedrock below the spillway and wash away too much of the river bottom below. Thank you for commenting.

[thehellmantrain]

looks like a giant water slide!!

[C60AC]

@thehellmantrain I know I wanted to jump in and slide it! Yeah, you'd probably get concrete splinters in your ass lol.

[ValleySubRails]

Nice shots, I like the view from when you were atop the damn. Water was movin fast!

[C60AC]

@ValleySubRails We'll have to go up there...

[ImAGrateSpellr]

looks like death

[Slimthugg615]

A skated the Bank By THere PEEP IT!!!

[dueltruckman]

i was at the bottom of the spillway the same month too! The wind from the water is so great that it wanted to blow my hat away and you get soaking wet from the mist. the wind was also bending trees!

[littlestar994]

fuk dat shyt

i drove on top wen that thing was not going haha im kool i almost pissed my self

[littlestar994]

fuk dat shyt



[CamCommandatore]

Wow very nice video! I havent seen that happen in a while! but was lucky enough to see it myself this year!

[coler7895]

also check out 3:35 to 3:52 nice vid pick i like it 

[svmelhorn]

Great video! Your skills continue to grow. I especially enjoyed the commentary about the history of heavy rains in the area. What a huge difference from last year this time. Now I know why there were only rocks on the side of the river opposite the spillway, massive quantities of water and tremendous power. Keep up the good work.