HomeMy WebLinkAbout08.07.26 Board Correspondence - FW_ Lake Oroville Community Update - August 7, 2026.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; Pickett, Andy; Ritter, Tami; Stephens, Brad J.; Sweeney, Kathleen;
Teeter, Doug; Zepeda, Elizabeth
Cc:Loeser, Kamie; Cannon, Jamie
Subject:Board Correspondence - FW: Lake Oroville Community Update - August 7, 2026
Date:Friday, August 7, 2026 3:29:56 PM
Attachments:image001.png
Please see Board Correspondence -
Lewis LeeAdministrative Technician - ConfidentialButte County Administration25 County Center Drive, Suite 200 • Oroville, CA 95965T: 530.552.3326www.buttecounty.ca.gov | lelee@buttecounty.ca.gov
From: Department of Water Resources <DWRMedia@public.govdelivery.com>
Sent: Friday, August 7, 2026 2:01 PM
To: Clerk of the Board <clerkoftheboard@buttecounty.ca.gov>
Subject: Lake Oroville Community Update - August 7, 2026
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Lake Oroville Community Update
August 7, 2026
Oroville-Area School Tours
Back to school season is here with young minds ready to grow in their knowledge of local
history and ecosystems. Fortunately, DWR offers free tours and educational programs for
students throughout the region.
Lake Oroville Visitor Center guides are currently booking free school tours of the Feather
River Fish Hatchery for the fall spawning season. View salmon spawning activities in
action, feed fish in the rearing raceways, and learn about the Chinook salmon lifecycle
and the importance of the Hatchery in supporting salmon populations in the Feather River
and ocean. School tours of the Hatchery are available by reservation. Contact the Lake
Oroville Visitor Center at (530) 538-2219 or (530) 534-2306.
Also tour the Lake Oroville Visitor Center featuring 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. The Lake Oroville Visitor Center is open daily from
9 a.m. to 5 p.m. with free parking and admission.
Enterprise Boat Ramp Closed
The California Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks) has closed
the Enterprise boat ramp due to lowering lake levels. As a multi-benefit reservoir, water
levels at Lake Oroville fluctuate throughout the year to meet water delivery contracts and
support Delta and Central Valley River habitats.
Alternate locations for trailered launching at Lake Oroville include the Spillway, Loafer
Creek/Loafer Point, Bidwell Canyon and Lime Saddle. Check the status of Lake Oroville
boat and cartop ramps on the State Parks website.
Fuel Load Reduction Projects
DWR and the Butte County Fire Safe Council have completed a 140-acre project to
reduce wildfire risk in the Loafer Creek area at the Lake Oroville State Recreation Area.
Over the last 10 months, crews reduced overgrown, dead, and dying vegetation using
hand and mechanical thinning, pile burning, and grazing.
The project was funded by a CAL FIRE Forest Health Grant with support from Mooretown
Rancheria’s Forestry Crew, Hanski Family Farms, CAL FIRE, and State Parks.
Overgrown vegetation and ground brush crowds oak trees.
In addition, DWR began the first phase of a new 20-acre vegetation management project
on Thursday, July 30 in the Thompson Fire burn scar along a portion of Oro Dam
Boulevard East near Oro Powerhouse Road and a section of the Dan Beebe Trail near the
Palermo Canal. Crews with the Butte County Sheriff’s Office will be cutting and piling dead
and downed material and promoting the growth of live vegetation, creating a 50-foot buffer
downslope of the trail. CAL FIRE will burn vegetation piles when weather conditions
permit. Vegetation work is expected to continue through the rest of the year.
California Natural Resources Agency Welcomes Public
Comments
The California Natural Resources Agency welcomes public comments on the second
Triennial Oroville Citizens Advisory Commission (OCAC) Legislative Report, which covers
Commission activities between fall 2022 and fall 2025.
The report is mandated by Senate Bill 955, the 2018 legislation that formed the
Commission, and is an important record of the information presented before the
by DWR at the Oroville facilities. The report provides the following information:
An overview of ongoing maintenance and improvements made at the dam and its
site.
A register of communications received from the department and other parties to the
commission.
Notice of upcoming plans made by the department for the dam and its site.
An overview of flood management projects on the Feather River affecting public
safety and flood risk reduction.
Public comments must be submitted by noon on Tuesday, Aug. 11. All comments
received during the public comment period will be included in the report's register of
communications and considered before the report is finalized. Comments may be
submitted via an online form. If you require assistance with submitting a comment, please
contact Samantha Arthur at Samantha.Arthur@resources.ca.gov.
Feather River Fish Monitoring Station
DWR resumed operations of the Feather River fish monitoring station on March 4, 2026,
to capture the return of spring-run Chinook salmon. Monitoring was temporarily
suspended at the end of December 2025 due to anticipated high flows in the Feather
River. Upstream migrating fish totals between March 4 and August 3, 2026, are:
Spring-run Chinook salmon (March 4 through June 30): 8,512
Fall-run Chinook salmon (July 1 through present): 1,749
Steelhead: 9
To see previous year data, visit CalFish.org.
Current Lake Operations
Lake Oroville is at 826 feet elevation and storage is approximately 2.47 million acre-feet
(MAF), which is 70 percent of its total capacity and 105 percent of the historical average.
Feather River flows are at 850 cubic feet per second (cfs) through the City of Oroville
with releases from the Thermalito Afterbay River Outlet at 7,650 cfs for a total Feather
River release of 8,500 cfs downstream. WR 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 8/6/2026.
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
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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