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Oroville Dam Inspectors Ignored Integrity Of Hillside That Eroded

/in /by /San Francisco Chronicleby Peter Fimrite and Kurtis Alexander

Inspectors visited Oroville Dam 14 times since 2008 but never considered the integrity of the hillside that eroded below the emergency spillway, leading to a near catastrophe that forced the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people downstream, state records show. The inspections by the state’s Division of Safety of Dams repeatedly mentioned the concrete apron, or weir, at the top of the emergency spillway, and often included photographs of it. “The structure was stable appearing, and the concrete remains sound,” inspectors wrote after their latest visit to the state-run dam in August 2016.

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With More Rain Forecast, Crews Work To Reinforce Oroville Dam

/in /by /NPRby Rebecca Hersher

In California, construction crews are trying to lower the level of Lake Oroville and repair emergency spillways at the Oroville Dam, about 75 miles north of Sacramento, to prevent catastrophic flooding downstream. A secondary spillway was opened Monday after the main spillway, which is supposed to safely release water when the lake level is too high, had developed a huge hole, as we reported. Rain is forecast for later this week in Northern California, and nearly 200,000 people who live downstream have been evacuated from the area.

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4 Questions About Damaged Oroville Dam

/in /by /Los Angeles Daily Newsby Ellen Knickmeyer and Elliot Spagat

Lake Oroville and its dam in Northern California are critical components in California’s complex water-delivery system. Damage to spillways that are used to drop water levels in the lake and relieve pressure on the dam prompted evacuation orders covering nearly 200,000 people. Here’s a look at Lake Oroville and its place in California’s water system Lake Oroville is the starting point for California’s State Water Project, which provides drinking water to 23 million of the state’s 39 million people and irrigates 750,000 acres of farms.

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Can Desalination Plants Quench California’s Thirst For Water In A Clean Way?

/in /by /Forbesby Ken Silverstein Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

California is expected to officially start up its second desalination plant in April, which takes seawater and makes it potable. The first one opened in December 2015 in Carlsbad that is near San Diego while the next one will be in Santa Barbara that is north of Los Angeles. And 15 more are on the table there. Is this a global solution for the billions without access to potable or sanitized water? Can desalination be done in a way that is minimizes harm to the ocean and that uses clean energy to run its operations?

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Live Updates: Mass Evacuation Below Oroville Dam As Officials Frantically Try To Make Repairs Before New Storms

/in /by /Los Angeles Times

“This is not a drill. Repeat this is not a drill,” the National Weather Service said Sunday, urging people living below Oroville Dam to evacuate. More than 100,000 people were told to evacuate because of a “hazardous situation” involving the Northern California dam’s emergency spillway. At one point, the NWS warned that the auxiliary spillway was expected to fail and could send an “uncontrolled release of flood waters from Lake Oroville.” However, by late Sunday night, officials said the immediate threat had passed because water had stopped washing over the emergency spillway.

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Water Level Drops Behind California Dam, Easing Flood Fears

/in /by /The Associated Press (As published by Talking Points Memo)by Olga R. Rodriguez and Don Thompson

The water level dropped Monday behind the nation’s tallest dam, reducing the risk of a catastrophic spillway collapse and easing fears that prompted the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people downstream. As the day began, officials from the California Department of Water Resources prepared to inspect an erosion scar on the spillway at the dam on Lake Oroville, about 150 miles northeast of San Francisco. Authorities ordered evacuations Sunday for everyone living below the lake out of concern that the spillway could fail and send a 30-foot wall of water roaring downstream.

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California Towns Flee As Oroville Dam Threatens To Release ‘Wall Of Water’

/in /by /CNNby Eliott C. McLaughlin and Paul Vercammen

Oroville, California (CNN)A massive crevasse that formed in a spillway at Northern California’s Oroville Dam has spurred mass evacuations, with nearby residents fleeing the worst-case specter of a three-story wall of water rushing downstream. In all, about 188,000 people, mostly in Butte, Sutter and Yuba counties, evacuated from the area, some being given only minutes to gather their things. “Everyone was running around; it was pure chaos,” Oroville resident Maggie Cabral told CNN affiliate KFSN on Sunday.”

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California Today: Flood Risk Causes 100,000 to Evacuate. Here’s What We Know.

/in /by /The New York Timesby Mike McPhate

Thousands of people fled areas downriver from Lake Oroville on Sunday after a secondary spillway at the swollen reservoir was compromised, raising fears of a collapse that might unleash disastrous flooding. By late Sunday, after whole towns had emptied out, officials said the immediate danger appeared to have passed. Evacuation orders, however, remained in place until they could be sure. “There are still a lot of unknowns,” Sheriff Kory L. Honea of Butte County said at a news conference.

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OPINION: See The dangerous Flooding At Oroville Dam For Yourself

/in /by /The San Diego Union-Tribuneby Abby Hamblin

The Oroville reservoir spill forced nearly 200,000 people to evacuate and Gov. Jerry Brown to issue a state of emergency, and officials are hurrying to make repairs before the next storms. Water overwhelming a failing retaining wall at the massive dam has raised questions and calls for action about California infrastructure. News reports are everywhere. By now, you’ve heard about it, but have you seen it? The video and photographs are wild. It’s a complicated scenario that can best be described in images. So here’s a look at the situation from those watching it unfold in person.

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Inspections Underway At San Diego Dams After Oroville Scare

/in /by /Times of San Diegoby Hoa Quach Mentioned: San Diego County Water Authority

A comprehensive condition assessment of nine dams owned by the city of San Diego has been underway for the past year, the Public Utilities Department said Monday. Asked about the condition of San Diego dams after Sunday’s mass evacuation in Oroville in Northern California, department officials told City News Service that they hired independent experts in dam design, construction and safety to perform detailed inspections of the dams in February of last year.

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