California Reservoir ‘Spectacular’ Release of Billions of Gallons of Water

Billions of gallons of water were released from a northern California reservoir amid rising water levels to mitigate flood risk as several atmospheric rivers bring a deluge of rain to the state.

An atmospheric river hit California on Thursday, and a second storm will batter the state over the weekend, prompting fears of floods since the ground throughout the state is already saturated from the previous storm. On Wednesday, water officials opened the spillway at the Oroville dam for a planned release to protect downstream communities from floods. The release comes after Lake Oroville water levels experienced a steep increase of more than 20 feet since the start of January.

A video of the release that showed the impressive rush of water down the spillway was shared on social media.

“Ready. Set. Spill! Check out this spectacular view from today of water rushing from Oroville Dam’s main spillway,” the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) posted on X, formerly Twitter, on Wednesday. “Not only was this planned release impressive to witness; it helps provide flood protection to downstream communities.”

Water was released at a rate of 6,000 cubic feet per second.

“Water releases from Lake Oroville provide ongoing flood protection to downstream communities and ensure storage space for additional rain. DWR began releasing water from Oroville Dam’s main spillway at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 31 in addition to ongoing water releases through the Hyatt Powerplant,” a DWR spokesperson told Newsweek.

The department estimates that 6.5 billion gallons of water have been released so far from the main spillway, with 11 billion gallons being released for power generation through the Hyatt Powerplant for a total estimated release of 17.5 billion gallons of water.

In the days since the release began, Lake Oroville’s water levels have fallen slightly from 842.5 feet to below 842 feet.

On Thursday, the DWR shared another video of the water release and explained where the water goes once it leaves the lake.

“Flood protection releases at Lake Oroville continue today to ensure continued reservoir storage from increasing rain & snowmelt. Water released into the Feather River supports the environment & some will eventually make its way through … to the San Luis Reservoir where it will be captured to maintain overall water supply,” the department posted on X with a new video.

Lake Oroville and Lake Shasta, also in northern California, both have risen significantly since the beginning of the year, and water officials also are managing Lake Shasta to mitigate flood risk.

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation spokesperson Mary Lee Garrison-Knecht told Newsweek that beginning on Tuesday, the USBR will increase releases “at Shasta and its regulating reservoir…for storage management.”