HomeMy WebLinkAbout9.19.22 Board Correspondence - FW_ Lake Oroville Community Update - September 16, 2022.ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening
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From:Clerk of the Board
To:Bennett, Robin; Clerk of the Board; Connelly, Bill; Cook, Holly; Cook, Robin; Hironimus, Patrizia; Kimmelshue,
Tod; Lucero, Debra; Paulsen, Shaina; Pickett, Andy; Reaster, Kayla; Ritter, Tami; Stephens, Brad J.; Sweeney,
Kathleen; Teeter, Doug; Valencia, Shyanne
Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Lake Oroville Community Update - September 16, 2022
Date:Monday, September 19, 2022 7:51:45 AM
Please see Board Correspondence below.
Shaina Paulsen
Associate Clerk of The Board
Butte County Administration
25 County Center Drive, Suite 200, Oroville, CA 95965
T: 530.552.3304 | F: 530.538.7120
From: Department of Water Resources <DWRMedia@public.govdelivery.com>
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2022 4:12 PM
To: Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net>
Subject: Lake Oroville Community Update - September 16, 2022
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Lake Oroville Community Update
September 16, 2022
Salmon Festival
The Oroville Salmon Festival returns to Oroville on Saturday, Sept. 24. Always held on the
last Saturday in September, the festival celebrates the annual return of Chinook salmon to
the Feather River.
The 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. event will be centered around the Feather River Fish Hatchery and
Historic Downtown Oroville. From an ‘Arts & Crafts Alley’ and Oro Dam Cruisers ‘Gold
Rush Car Show’ on Montgomery Street, to a kids activity zone, food vendors (including
BBQ salmon), music, live glass blowing, and informational booths, visitors and families will
find many activities to enjoy in Oroville’s historic downtown and along the Feather River
levee.
North of downtown Oroville, across the Feather River, the Feather River Fish Hatchery will
open at 9 a.m. and close at 3 p.m. for visitors wishing to learn more about the yearly
return of Chinook salmon to the river. Educational tours will be offered throughout the day
and visitors will find informational booths, food, a mobile fish exhibit, and a chance to cast
a fly-fishing rod. On the northeast side of the hatchery site, the Fish Barrier Dam Overlook,
fish ladder, and underwater viewing window are also open to the public.
Those wanting to see the salmon in their natural habitat can sign up for the Forebay
Aquatic Center’s “Feather River Salmon Tours” kayak trips down the Feather River. DWR
biologists will offer participants education about the salmonid life cycle and river habitat.
For details, visit the Salmon Festival’s website.
Hatchery Fish Ladder Opens
Chinook salmon are completing their life cycle and returning home to the Feather River to
lay eggs for the next generation of salmon. The Feather River Fish Hatchery will begin
their spawning activities when the fish ladder opens Monday, Sept. 19.
Visitors to the Hatchery’s Fish Barrier Dam Overlook Viewing Area can view salmon
congregating and jumping in the Feather River and see them up close through the
Underwater Viewing Window as they swim up the fish ladder. The Overlook is located off
Table Mountain Boulevard north of the Hatchery. Visitors are also encouraged to visit the
Hatchery, open daily 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The Feather River Fish Hatchery’s spawning operations enables millions of Chinook
salmon to be released every spring. This year, the hatchery released 11.3 million young
Chinook salmon smolts to the waters of the Feather River, San Pablo Bay, and San
Francisco Bay to support Northern California and Pacific Ocean fisheries. The Feather
River Fish Hatchery is a California State Water Project facility owned and maintained by
the California Department of Water Resources (DWR), which funds hatchery operations.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) operates the hatchery, including
fish spawning, rearing, and stocking activities.
Oroville Recreation
The Lime Saddle boat ramp is closed with lake elevations falling below safe launching
levels and the Spillway boat ramp is anticipated to close the week of Sept. 19. The Bidwell
Canyon Stage III and Loafer Point Stage II boat ramps are open and are anticipated to
remain open through the winter.
Boaters are reminded the Lime Saddle Marina will remain open and shuttle service to
moored boats is available from 8:30 am. to 4 p.m. The Bidwell Canyon Marina will also be
open from 8:30 am. to 8 p.m. with shuttle service available during that time.
The Thermalito Forebay and Afterbay also provide boating, hiking, biking, fishing, and
other recreation opportunities. Please pay extra attention when boating in the Afterbay, as
hundreds of baby Western and Clark’s Grebes have hatched in the Afterbay over the last
few weeks. These new hatchlings do not yet have good mobility and are very vulnerable
to boats at full speed, so please use caution.
The Lake Oroville area has over 92 miles of trails, all open to hiking, with some also
allowing for horseback riding, some also allowing biking, and some designated for “multi-
use” where all three activities may occur on the same trail. The trails provide users with
spectacular views of Lake Oroville and the valley, home to the Sutter Buttes – named the
smallest mountain range in the world.
Trails and their permitted uses, day use areas, boat ramps and other recreation facilities
are featured on DWR’s interactive map on DWR’s Lake Oroville Recreation webpage.
Step inside the Lake Oroville Visitor Center, open Tuesday through Thursday from 9 a.m.
to 5 p.m., to learn about the State Water Project and history of the area.
Campgrounds Close in Plumas National Forest
As the summer recreation season draws to a close, the Plumas National Forest is
beginning the slow process of winterizing and closing recreation sites. Area residents and
visitors are encouraged to check that recreation sites are still open. Find more information
on the Plumas National Forest webpage by scrolling down to the “Seasonal Recreation
Changes” news release.
Current Lake Operations
The elevation of Oroville’s reservoir is about 701 feet elevation and storage is about 1.26
million acre-feet (MAF), which is 36 percent of its total capacity and 64 percent of
historical average. Temperatures this weekend are forecasted in the low-80s-to-mid-70s
with temperatures increasing towards the low-90s later in the week. About 1-1.5 inches of
precipitation is forecasted in the Feather River watershed beginning Saturday through
early next week.
The Feather River releases are currently at 2,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) and continue
to meet downstream Delta water quality and outflow needs. Flows through the City of
Oroville are 650 cfs with 1,850 cfs released from the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet (Outlet)
for a total of 2,500 cfs downstream of the Outlet. DWR continues to assess releases to the
Feather River daily.
The public can track precipitation, snow, reservoir levels, and more at the California Data
Exchange Center at www.cdec.water.ca.gov. The Lake Oroville gage station is identified
as “ORO”.
All data as of midnight 9/15/2022
California is in its third year of drought conditions. With water conservation now a way of
life in California, everyone is encouraged to find ways to save water. See tips, tools, and
ideas on the Save Our Water website. Information about real time local hydrological
conditions, forecasts, and water conditions is available on DWR’s new website California
Water Watch.
This email was sent to clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net from the California Natural Resources Agency
utilizing govDelivery. California Natural Resources Agency, 715 P Street, California, CA 95814
California Department of Water Resources
715 P Street
Sacramento, CA 95814
Call our general information line at 916-820-8142
or email us at oroville@water.ca.gov
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