HomeMy WebLinkAbout12.6.2024 Please see Board Correspondence - FW_ Lake Oroville Community Update - December 6, 2024.ATTENTION: This message originated from outside Butte County. Please exercise judgment before opening
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From:Clerk of the Board
To:Loeser, Kamie; Clerk of the Board; Connelly, Bill; Cook, Holly; Cook, Robin; Durfee, Peter; Jessee, Meegan;
Kimmelshue, Tod; Kitts, Melissa; Lee, Lewis; Pickett, Andy; Ritter, Tami; Stephens, Brad J.; Sweeney, Kathleen;
Teeter, Doug; Zepeda, Elizabeth
Cc:Nuzum, Danielle
Subject:Please see Board Correspondence - FW: Lake Oroville Community Update - December 6, 2024
Date:Monday, December 9, 2024 5:00:03 PM
Please see Board Correspondence -
From: California Natural Resources Agency <CNRA@public.govdelivery.com>
Sent: Friday, December 6, 2024 1:43 PM
To: Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.net>
Subject: Lake Oroville Community Update - December 6, 2024
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Lake Oroville Community Update
December 6, 2024
Snow-Cember at the Visitor Center
Stop by the Lake Oroville Visitor Center each weekend in December for free winter-
themed craft activities for kids three-years-old and up! 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 include:
Dec. 7-8: Shaving cream ornaments
Dec. 14-15: Snowman countdown garland
Dec. 21-22: Paper plate snow globes
Dec. 28-29: Snowman yarn puppets
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.
Lakeside Access Road Closed
Rising reservoir levels at Lake Oroville from recent storms have required the closure of
Lakeside Access Road at Oroville Dam. While Lakeside Access Road is closed, vehicle
access to the Spillway Boat Ramp and Day Use Area is available daily between 6 a.m.
and 8 p.m., with all vehicles and trailers subject to inspection by the California Highway
Patrol (CHP) for security purposes. There are three other boat ramps at Lake Oroville that
are open 24 hours/day and do not entail CHP inspections: Bidwell Canyon, Loafer Point,
and Lime Saddle.
Oroville Dam Citizens Advisory Commission
The California Natural Resources Agency hosted its 18th Oroville Dam Citizens Advisory
Commission meeting on Dec. 6. In addition to public comment, the Commission received
an update on winter forecasts and operations preparation from the Department of Water
Resources (DWR); an overview of a recent joint State-local Oroville Dam emergency
response training exercise led by DWR; a presentation from the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers on its process to update the Water Control Manual, which prescribes day-to-
day water flood control management for the Oroville Reservoir; and a commissioner-led
presentation on how the Water Control Manual relates to public safety, including
perspectives on public safety-focused objectives for the update.
The Citizens Advisory Commission is a forum for questions and feedback from the
communities surrounding Oroville Dam. For information on the meeting, please visit the
Oroville Dam Citizens Advisory Commission website. A transcript of the virtual meeting
will be available on the webpage in the coming weeks.
DWR Announces Initial State Water Project Allocation for 2025
DWR announced an initial State Water Project (SWP) allocation forecast of five percent of
requested supplies for 2025. The SWP provides water to 29 public water agencies that
serve 27 million Californians.
The December initial water supply forecast is the first allocation of the new water year and
is based on current reservoir storage and conservative assumptions for precipitation to
come. For comparison, last year, the initial allocation for Water Year 2024 was 10 percent
of requested supplies and it eventually increased to 40 percent by the end of the season.
The initial allocation forecast announced today does not take into account the series of
strong storms that brought precipitation to above average across Northern California in the
last two weeks of November. These storms will be taken into account along with other
variables for future allocation updates. Prior to these storms, the start of the water year
had been dry and warm.
More information about the allocation announcement may be found in DWR’s press
release.
Feather River Fishing Opportunities
Like Chinook salmon that migrate from the Pacific Ocean to the Feather River to spawn,
steelhead trout have similar migratory practices, with most returning in the fall and winter
months. With more than 1,300 steelhead trout migrating upstream from DWR’s fish
monitoring station this year, the cooler months offer prime steelhead fishing opportunities
in the Feather River. These fish have typically spent a year or two in the ocean and range
in size from 2 to 8 pounds. The Oroville Wildlife Area (OWA) provides walk-in access to
several miles of the Feather River for fishing, along with multiple locations for launching
fishing boats (4-wheel-drive vehicles recommended). In addition, the Thermalito Afterbay
offers excellent fishing opportunities for steelhead that were raised at the Feather River
Fish Hatchery and range in size from 2 to 4 pounds.
Lake Oroville is also one of the State Water Project’s premier recreational destinations
and one of California’s best fishing spots. The lake provides both warm-water and cold-
water fisheries, with excellent bass fishing opportunities during the fall and winter months.
Be sure to check California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) fishing regulations
before fishing. The marinas at Bidwell Canyon and Lime Saddle are open daily and
provide a variety of services including a convenience store, gas, boat rentals, and more.
Oroville Recreation
DWR, the California Department of Parks and Recreation (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.
Upstream migrating fish totals through the Feather River Fish Monitoring Station between
Jan. 1 and Nov. 1 are:
Spring-run Chinook salmon (March 1 through June 30): 7,152
Fall-run Chinook salmon (July 1 through present): 37,136
Steelhead: 1,314
Current Lake Operations
Lake Oroville is at 783 feet elevation and storage is approximately 1.92 million acre-feet
(MAF), which is 56 percent of its total capacity and 108 percent of the historical average.
Feather River flows are at 800 cubic feet per second (cfs) through the City of Oroville with
950 cfs being released from the Thermalito Afterbay River Outlet (Outlet) for a total
Feather River release of 1,750 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.”
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
All data as of midnight 12/5/2024.
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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