It wasn’t so long ago that residents here had to drag their houseboats into a dusty field from the barren banks of Lake Oroville, which had almost no water left to keep them afloat. Now after weeks of rain, that dusty field is swelling with water and nearly 200,000 people had to evacuate the area […]
Federal officials Monday ordered California to convene a five-member independent board of dam experts to review the condition of Oroville’s auxiliary spillway and the damaged regular concrete spillway, and to make recommendations about how to improve safety during the emergency and over the long-term. In a letter to the state Department of Water Resources, the […]
Eleven years ago, as three environmental groups were urging the state and federal government to require that concrete be used to armor the emergency spillway at Oroville Dam — an earthen spillway whose near collapse caused the evacuation of 200,000 people this week — state water officials said that was unnecessary. “The spillway is a […]
Here are some central questions and answers about the damage to the Oroville Dam and the fight to prevent a catastrophe: What is the Oroville Dam? Work on the Oroville Dam — the tallest dam in the country at 770 feet — started in 1957 and included the relocation of California State Route 70 and […]
Federal and state officials have a lot to answer for in the wake of the Oroville Dam fiasco. They decided in 2005 to ignore warnings that the massive earthen spillway adjacent to the dam itself could erode during heavy winter rains — which it has done — and cause a calamity, which it very nearly did […]
North state senators Ted Gaines and Jim Nielsen expressed their disagreement last week with the California State Water Resources Control Board’s decision to extend the state’s emergency drought regulations. Gaines, who represents the 1st Senate District that includes Siskiyou County, stated in a press release that by voting to extend the regulations, urban water districts […]
In Shadow Of California Dam, Water Turns From Wish To Woe
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The New York Timesby Mike McPhate and Jess BidgoodIt wasn’t so long ago that residents here had to drag their houseboats into a dusty field from the barren banks of Lake Oroville, which had almost no water left to keep them afloat. Now after weeks of rain, that dusty field is swelling with water and nearly 200,000 people had to evacuate the area […]
Feds Order Independent Safety Review Of Oroville Spillways
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /OrovilleMR Newsby Matthias GafniFederal officials Monday ordered California to convene a five-member independent board of dam experts to review the condition of Oroville’s auxiliary spillway and the damaged regular concrete spillway, and to make recommendations about how to improve safety during the emergency and over the long-term. In a letter to the state Department of Water Resources, the […]
State Said Emergency Spillway was ‘Safe and Solid’ After Challenge
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Chico Enteriprise Recordby Paul Rogers and San JoseEleven years ago, as three environmental groups were urging the state and federal government to require that concrete be used to armor the emergency spillway at Oroville Dam — an earthen spillway whose near collapse caused the evacuation of 200,000 people this week — state water officials said that was unnecessary. “The spillway is a […]
Courting Disaster At Oroville Dam — Key Questions and Answers
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /San Francisco Chronicleby Jill TuckerHere are some central questions and answers about the damage to the Oroville Dam and the fight to prevent a catastrophe: What is the Oroville Dam? Work on the Oroville Dam — the tallest dam in the country at 770 feet — started in 1957 and included the relocation of California State Route 70 and […]
OPINION: State, Feds Must Answer For Oroville Dam Fiasco
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /The Mercury News (San Jose)Federal and state officials have a lot to answer for in the wake of the Oroville Dam fiasco. They decided in 2005 to ignore warnings that the massive earthen spillway adjacent to the dam itself could erode during heavy winter rains — which it has done — and cause a calamity, which it very nearly did […]
Senators Disagree With Decision to Extend Drought Regulations
/in California and the U.S. /by Mike Lee /Mount Shasta HeraldNorth state senators Ted Gaines and Jim Nielsen expressed their disagreement last week with the California State Water Resources Control Board’s decision to extend the state’s emergency drought regulations. Gaines, who represents the 1st Senate District that includes Siskiyou County, stated in a press release that by voting to extend the regulations, urban water districts […]