Construction plans for Lake Oroville spillways project approved

27 July 2017


California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) has announced it has received final approval to proceed with its 2017 construction plan for the Lake Oroville Spillways Emergency Recovery Project.

Authorization from the California Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD) and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) was given on July 13 and 15 respectively.

The work now has all required approvals from federal, state, and independent oversight groups. The independent Board of Consultants (BOC) also approved DWR’s construction plans last month pending final approval from FERC.

The first phase of construction will be completed by 1 November 2017, with the objective of ensuring that the main spillway can safely pass Feather River watershed flows this year. The first phase of construction includes:

  • Removal and reconstruction of 2270ft of the main spillway.
  • Repairs to the uppermost 730ft portion of the main spillway that connects to the radial gates. This portion will be demolished and reconstructed in 2018.
  • Construction of an underground cutoff wall below the emergency spillway to prevent uphill erosion if the emergency spillway is used again.

The remaining construction will be completed in 2018, which will also need federal and state approval. This includes:

  • Addition of structural concrete to the entire main spillway.
  • Resurfacing and hydro-blasting of the energy dissipaters at the base of the spillway.
  • Construction of a roller-compacted concrete buttress (sloped wall) and splashpad on the emergency spillway to dissipate the energy of any waterflows.

??DWR’s final design and construction plans, which will continue to be monitored by DSOD, FERC, and the independent BOC, include modern technologies and methods to meet and exceed today’s safety and construction standards.



Privacy Policy
We have updated our privacy policy. In the latest update it explains what cookies are and how we use them on our site. To learn more about cookies and their benefits, please view our privacy policy. Please be aware that parts of this site will not function correctly if you disable cookies. By continuing to use this site, you consent to our use of cookies in accordance with our privacy policy unless you have disabled them.