HomeMy WebLinkAbout10.31.25 Board Correspondence - FW_ Lake Oroville Community Update - October 31, 2025.ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening
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From:Clerk of the Board
To:Clerk of the Board; Connelly, Bill; Cook, Holly; Cook, Robin; Durfee, Peter; Jessee, Meegan; Kimmelshue, Tod;
Kitts, Melissa; Krater, Sharleen; Lee, Lewis; Little, Melissa; Pickett, Andy; Ritter, Tami; Stephens, Brad J.;
Sweeney, Kathleen; Teeter, Doug; Zepeda, Elizabeth
Cc:Nuzum, Danielle; Loeser, Kamie
Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Lake Oroville Community Update - October 31, 2025
Date:Friday, October 31, 2025 2:15:57 PM
Please see Board Correspondence -
From: California Natural Resources Agency <CNRA@public.govdelivery.com>
Sent: Friday, October 31, 2025 1:41 PM
To: Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net>
Subject: Lake Oroville Community Update - October 31, 2025
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Lake Oroville Community Update
October 31, 2025
One Year Later: How California is Combating Golden Mussels
It’s been a year since golden mussels were first discovered in California—and the state’s
response has been swift and strategic. In partnership with California State Parks and the
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the Department of Water Resources
(DWR) is taking decisive action to combat the spread of this invasive species and
safeguard California’s vital water infrastructure.
Golden mussels pose a serious threat to the State Water Project (SWP), which delivers
water to 27 million Californians and 750,000 acres of farmland. To protect this critical
infrastructure, DWR has launched a series of proactive measures to minimize the
and its partners are tackling this challenge head-on.
Oroville Recreation Advisory Committee
The Oroville Recreation Advisory Committee (ORAC) will hold a meeting on Friday, Nov. 7
at 10 a.m. at the Oroville Southside Community Center located at 2959 Lower Wyandotte
Road, Oroville, CA, 95966.
ORAC was established by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to review
and provide recreation plan recommendations for Oroville Facilities owned by DWR. The
13-member committee is made up of representatives from state and local government,
recreation groups, and business and community organizations.
Portion of the Thermalito Afterbay Dam Crest Remains Closed
DWR continues work on a paving and sealing project to rehabilitate several locations
owned and maintained by the department that are heavily used by maintenance staff and
members of the public. While improvements in most public areas have been completed,
portions of the Thermalito Afterbay Dam Crest Road remain closed for ongoing pavement
work. In addition, the main Feather River Fish Hatchery facility will be temporarily closed
this weekend. Vintage Paving Company, Inc. of Winters, Calif. is the contractor for the
project.
Upcoming construction work will require closures to the following public areas and roads:
Aug. 18 – Nov. 30: Afterbay Dam Crest Road/Brad Freeman Trail south of State
Route 162 to the East Hamilton Road Trail Access
Nov. 1-2: The main Feather River Fish Hatchery facility will be closed to the
public. The lower parking lot will remain open for public access to the fish viewing
window and fish barrier dam viewing platform.
Additional locations for future paving and sealing work include:
Thermalito Diversion Dam Powerplant
Oroville Field Division Operations and Maintenance Center at Glen Drive
DWR will provide more details about scheduled work and potential public access impacts
in future newsletters. Work schedules are subject to change based on weather and the
availability of equipment and materials.
Golden Mussel Inspection Program
DWR is reminding the public that its mussel inspection/decontamination facility will close
daily at 4:30 p.m. starting Monday, Nov. 3. In addition, boat ramps at Lake Oroville are no
longer open 24/7. Watercraft must be out of the water by ramp closing time or they
will be locked into the facility overnight. Please plan ahead. More details about DWR’s
mussel inspection program are available at water.ca.gov/mussels.
Watercraft Inspection Location/Decontamination Services
North Thermalito Forebay at Garden Drive and HWY 70 in Oroville
Hours of operation: Daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Starting Nov. 3: Daily from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Sealed Vessel Launching
Lake Oroville
Ramp hours: Daily from 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Spillway
Ramp hours: Monday-Thursday 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Friday-Sunday 7:30 a.m. to 8
p.m.
Bidwell Canyon
Ramp hours: Monday-Thursday 5 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Friday-Sunday 5 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Lime Saddle
Ramp hours: Daily from 5 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Loafer Creek/Loafer Point
Thermalito Afterbay
Ramp hours: Daily from 1.5 hours before sunrise to 1 hour after sunset
Monument Hill
Thermalito Forebay
Ramp Hours: Daily from 8 a.m. to sunset
North Forebay (Non-motorized vessels only)
Oroville Recreation
DWR, State Parks, and CDFW maintain over 92 miles of trails in the Oroville area. An
interactive map of recreation facilities, including open trails and their permitted uses (hike,
bike, horse, multi), is available on DWR’s Lake Oroville Recreation webpage. A paper trail
map is available at various locations, including most entrance kiosks and the Lake Oroville
Visitor Center.
Staffed by knowledgeable guides, the Lake Oroville Visitor Center features interpretive
displays on Oroville Dam, area geology, wildlife and habitat, hydroelectric power, and
cultural and historical artifacts. View videos in the theater about the construction of
Oroville Dam, walk or hike along nearby trails, and visit the 47-foot-tall observation tower
that provides unsurpassed panoramic views of surrounding areas. Free guided tours for
school and community groups are available by reservation. Parking and admission to the
Visitor Center are free.
Between Jan. 30 and April 20, high flows in the Feather River required the temporary
removal of fish monitoring equipment resulting in lower spring-run estimates. Upstream
migrating fish totals through the Feather River Fish Monitoring Station between Jan. 1 and
Oct. 24, 2025 are:
Spring-run Chinook salmon (April 16 through June 30): 17,712
Fall-run Chinook salmon (July 1 through present): 35,045
Steelhead: 886
To see previous year data, visit CalFish.org.
Current Lake Operations
Lake Oroville is at 775 feet elevation and storage is approximately 1.84 million acre-feet
(MAF), which is 54 percent of its total capacity and 102 percent of the historical average.
Feather River flows are at 650 cubic feet per second (cfs) through the City of Oroville with
1,800 cfs being released from the Thermalito Afterbay River Outlet (Outlet) for a total
Feather River release of 2,450 cfs downstream. DWR continues to assess Feather River
releases daily.
The public can track precipitation, snow, reservoir levels, and more at the California Data
Exchange Center. The Lake Oroville gage station is identified as “ORO.”
All data as of 11:59 p.m. on 10/30/2025.
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
Contact Us
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