Sacramento River

Oroville Dam Safety Comprehensive Needs Assessment Summary

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | October 30th, 2020

Oroville Dam, located on the Feather River in Butte County, is a key facility of the California State Water Project (SWP). Completed in 1967, it is owned and operated by

Oroville Dam, located on the Feather River in Butte County, is a key facility of the California State Water Project (SWP). Completed in 1967, it is owned and operated by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR). In February 2017, both the gated main spillway and the ungated emergency spillway suffered significant erosion scour damage while releasing flood waters that had flowed into Lake Oroville. Concerns for the stability of the spillway crest structures resulted in the temporary evacuation of 188,000 residents downstream of the dam. Over the next few months, flood waters were successfully managed by making controlled reservoir releases down the damaged gated main spillway through May 2017 when the gates were closed for the year and DWR began repairs to the two spillways. By the fall of 2018, the entire 3,000-foot-long chute for the gated main spillway had been completely reconstructed, and major erosion-resistant armoring had been added to the emergency spillway. The repairs resulted in making these two spillways robust structures meeting modern engineering standards. 

Oroville Dam: A key unit of the State Water Project

California Department of Water Resources (DWR) | July 1st, 1973

Our Vision for the California Delta

Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force (Delta Vision) | March 19th, 2008

Our Vision for the California Delta

Delta Vision Blue Ribbon Task Force (Delta Vision) | March 19th, 2008

Executive Order S-17-06, directed us to “develop a durable vision for sustainable management of the Delta” with the goal of “...managing the Delta over the long te

Executive Order S-17-06, directed us to “develop a durable vision for sustainable management of the Delta” with the goal of “...managing the Delta over the long term to restore and maintain identified functions and values that are determined to be important to the environmental quality of the Delta and the economic and social well being of the people of the state.” The executive order calls for our vision to be completed by January 1, 2008 and a strategic plan by November 2008.

Outmigration survival of wild Chinook salmon smolts through the Sacramento River during historic drought and high water conditions

Environmental Biology of Fishes (Springer) | January 27th, 2020

Over‐pumping leads to California groundwater arsenic threat

Nature Portfolio (Springer Nature) | June 5th, 2018

Water resources are being challenged to meet domestic, agricultural, and industrial needs. To complement finite surface water supplies that are being stressed b

Water resources are being challenged to meet domestic, agricultural, and industrial needs. To complement finite surface water supplies that are being stressed by changes in precipitation and increased demand, groundwater is increasingly being used. Sustaining groundwater use requires considering both water quantity and quality. A unique challenge for groundwater use, as compared with surface water, is the presence of naturally occurring contaminants within aquifer sediments, which can enter the water supply. Here we find that recent groundwater pumping, observed through land subsidence, results in an increase in aquifer arsenic concentrations in the San Joaquin Valley of California. By comparison, historic groundwater pumping shows no link to current groundwater arsenic concentrations. Our results support the premise that arsenic can reside within pore water of clay strata within aquifers and is released due to overpumping. We provide a quantitative model for using subsidence as an indicator of arsenic concentrations correlated with groundwater pumping.

Pacific Coast Salmon Fishery Management Plan

Pacific Fishery Management Council | March 1st, 2016

Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations et al v. Wilbur Ross et al

U.S. District Court, Northern District of California | December 12th, 2019

Pared-Down Water Plan to Be Submitted in 1987

Los Angeles Times | June 17th, 1985

SACRAMENTO — Gov. George Deukmejian’s Administration is preparing to submit a new water package to the Legislature in 1987, a stripped-down version of the plan that f

SACRAMENTO — Gov. George Deukmejian’s Administration is preparing to submit a new water package to the Legislature in 1987, a stripped-down version of the plan that failed in 1984, according to David N. Kennedy, director of the state Department of Water Resources. The plan, contingent on Deukmejian’s reelection next year, would reverse the position the governor took after the stinging rebuke of a year ago, when he blamed Democratic lawmakers for the defeat. He said then that it would be up to the Legislature to produce an acceptable plan for supplying the state’s water needs. But now the Administration is once again gearing up to take the initiative on the water issue. The package would contain three key elements: - Authorization for $300 million in Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta projects needed to ship additional surplus water south. - A commitment to help maintain and restore deteriorating delta levees. - Environmental protections for San Francisco Bay.

Passage and Flow Considered Anew: Wild Salmon Restoration Via Hyrdo Relicensing

University of Montana | May 24th, 2016