HomeMy WebLinkAbout11.21.25 Board Correspondence - FW_ Lake Oroville Community Update - November 21, 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:Loeser, Kamie; Nuzum, Danielle
Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Lake Oroville Community Update - November 21, 2025
Date:Monday, November 24, 2025 8:40:38 AM
Please see Board Correspondence -
From: California Natural Resources Agency <CNRA@public.govdelivery.com>
Sent: Friday, November 21, 2025 3:05 PM
To: Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net>
Subject: Lake Oroville Community Update - November 21, 2025
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Lake Oroville Community Update
November 21, 2025
Snow-cember at the Visitor Center
Stop by the Lake Oroville Visitor Center for free winter-themed craft activities for kids ages
three and older! Located at 917 Kelly Ridge Road in Oroville, the Visitor Center is open
daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Snow-cember weekend craft activities are offered between 10
a.m. and 4 p.m. and include:
Nov. 29-30: Polar bear handprint craft and snowman bookmark
Dec. 6-7: Clay snowman craft, pastel art, and snow slime
Dec. 13-14: Salt and watercolor snowflake art, snowflake sun catcher, and ice
fishing experiment
Dec. 20-21: Pipe cleaner snowflake ornament and take-home salt crystal
snowflake experiment
Dec. 27-28: Paper plate swirly snowman and snowman wreath
Jan. 3-4: Pasta snowflake art and icicle ornament
Craft activities are free and offered while supplies last. Visitor Center activities throughout
Snow-cember also include a water drop toss game, snowflake craft station, and 2025
DWR snow survey videos in the theater.
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.
Floating Classroom Tours End for the Season
The Department of Water Resources (DWR) has concluded the 2025 Feather River
Floating Classroom tour season. Free tours for local schools and community members
started in early October and ran through early November in Oroville, during the peak of
Chinook salmon spawning activity in the Feather River. This year DWR offered free field
trips to more than 1,000 fourth- through 12th-grade students from 13 different schools,
along with free Saturday tours for 480 community members.
Developed by scientists within DWR’s Division of Integrated Science and Engineering
(DISE), the Feather River Floating Classroom Program gives students and community
members an up-close and personal view of Chinook salmon, as rafts guided by scientists
drift through their natural spawning habitat. Scientists also provide education about DWR’s
State Water Project and the work occurring in the Feather River to monitor and conserve
anadromous Chinook salmon, steelhead trout, and green sturgeon populations.
The Floating Classroom program is entirely funded by DWR with support from the Pacific
States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Thermalito Union Elementary School
District. While tours have ended for the season, DWR’s efforts continue year-round to
monitor and conserve anadromous populations. The Feather River Floating Classroom
program will resume next fall, when Chinook Salmon spawning begins. To learn more
about this program, visit DWR’s blog.
Paving and Sealing Work
DWR is suspending paving and sealing work for the winter on a 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
through the end of November. The Thermalito Afterbay Dam Crest Road will reopen to
vehicles and foot traffic through the winter and spring, with paving work expected to
resume in May 2026.
Construction closures are in effect for 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
Additional locations for future paving and sealing work in 2026 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. Vintage Paving Company, Inc. of Winters,
California is the project contractor.
Golden Mussel Inspection Program
DWR is reminding the public that 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 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)
Feather River Fish Monitoring Station
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
Nov. 16, 2025 are:
Spring-run Chinook salmon (April 16 through June 30): 17,712
Fall-run Chinook salmon (July 1 through present): 42,319
Steelhead: 1,487
To see previous year data, visit CalFish.org.
Current Lake Operations
Lake Oroville is at 769 feet elevation and storage is approximately 1.78 million acre-feet
(MAF), which is 52 percent of its total capacity and 101 percent of the historical average.
Feather River flows are at 650 cubic feet per second (cfs) through the City of Oroville with
1,750 cfs being released from the Thermalito Afterbay River Outlet (Outlet) for a total
Feather River release of 2,400 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 11/20/2025.
DWR wishes everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.
The Lake Oroville Community Update will return on December 5, 2025.
California Department of Water Resources
715 P Street
This email was sent to clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net from the California Natural Resources Agency
utilizing govDelivery. California Natural Resources Agency, 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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