Thread: Oroville Dam spillway expected to fail; residents ordered to evacuate

Residents of Oroville and nearby towns were ordered to immediately evacuate Sunday after a “hazardous situation” developed involving an emergency spillway at the Oroville Dam.

The National Weather Service said the auxiliary spillway at the Oroville Dam was expected to fail about 5:45 p.m., which could send an “uncontrolled release of flood waters from Lake Oroville.”

Those in Oroville, a city of about 16,000 people, were asked to flee northward toward Chico. In Yuba County, those in the valley areas were urged to take routes to the east, south or west.

“This is not a drill. This is not a drill. Repeat this is not a drill,” the National Weather Service said. Authorities urged residents to contact neighbors and family members and reach out to the elderly and assist them in evacuating.
The Butte County Sheriff’s Department and the state Department of Water Resources said the failure of the auxiliary spillway — a 1,700-foot-long hillside route — was caused by “severe erosion.”

The evacuations marked a dramatic turn of events at the nation’s tallest dam. For several days, officials have been trying to figure out how to get water out of Lake Oroville after the main spillway was damaged.

The emergency spillway had never been used before — and until the last few hours it seemed to be working well. But water from rain and snow continued to flow into Lake Oroville at a rapid pace, causing the water level to rise to emergency levels.

Lake Oroville is the linchpin of California’s state water movement system, sending water from the Sierra Nevada south to cities and farms.
Evacuation order as Oroville Dam spillway expected to fail - LA Times

If it keeps on raining
Levee's going to break
If it keeps on raining
The levee's going to break

When the levee breaks
We'll have no place to stay
Mean old levee
Taught me to weep and moan

Oh, mean old levee
Taught me to weep and moan
It's got what it takes
To make a mountain man leave his home

Oh, well, oh well, oh well

Media storm in a tea cup.
The main fault was that no one "walked" the spill way to check for damage, years ago. Too much reliance on technology. Fat/overweight/unfit employees too self important/lazy/unmotivated/complacent to actually go and have a personal up-close look at the civil works.

I typical stitch in time scenario now millions will have to be spent to completely rebuild the existing spillway or to build a completely new one.