Feather River hatchery in peril, spillway failure, 20-21 salmon seasons with it?

I just found this report from DWR, so this might be what they are refferring too.  However the lake is currently riding at 895.84 ft.

SACRAMENTO – While there is still a chance the emergency spillway at Lake Oroville may be used
this weekend, reservoir operators say that if current releases from the nearly full reservoir can be
maintained, it is less likely the lake will rise to the point where water flows into the emergency spillway
channel.
Whether the emergency spillway is used or not, Oroville Dam itself is sound and there is no imminent
threat to the public, said California Department of Water Resources (DWR) Acting Director William
Croyle.
“We’re ready to use the emergency spillway if needed,” he said. “But we’re trying to avoid it because
there will be sediment and debris impacts downstream.”
As storm runoff into Lake Oroville began to wane late Thursday, operators boosted releases from
40,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 65,000 cfs. Releases from the nearly full reservoir are
hampered by erosion damage to the main spillway, but DWR officials said Friday that if the 65,000 cfs
discharge can be maintained, use of the emergency spillway may be avoided.
If the reservoir does rise enough to tip overflow into the emergency spillway channel, that likely would
happen Saturday. In that event, DWR will give the public as much notice as possible. DWR does not
expect any emergency spillway discharge from the reservoir to exceed the capacity of any channel
downstream as the water flows through the Feather River, into the Sacramento River, and into the
San Francisco Bay.
The emergency spillway has not been used in Oroville Dam’s 48-year history, but Lake Oroville came
within a foot of spilling into it in January 1997.
Reservoir operators were using the main, gated spillway at the dam on Tuesday when the lower
portion of the concrete chute began to erode. DWR shut off flows temporarily to investigate but has
resumed using the gated spillway channel in order to try to avoid having the lake rise to elevation 901
feet above sea level, the point at which water naturally flows over a concrete weir and down a
wooded hillside. That hillside is being rapidly cleared of trees and brush to minimize the amount of
debris that would flow into the Feather River in the event of an emergency spill. DWR also is
reinforcing the emergency spill corridor to minimize erosion.
Thursday’s storm arrived warmer, wetter and stayed longer than anticipated. To help handle inflow,
reservoir operators upped releases down the damaged spillway overnight Thursday from 40,000
cubic feet per second (cfs) to 65,000 cfs. The higher flows further eroded the gated spillway channel,
but not to a point that would compromise the integrity of the dam upstream. DWR and many federal
and state partners are monitoring the spillway erosion carefully and are prepared to ramp down flows
if necessary.
In addition, DWR crews are working to restore the use of the Hyatt power plant at the dam, which
would allow operators to release up to an additional 14,000 cfs. Flows out of the power plant were
halted Thursday evening because debris downstream of the damaged spillway had caused water to
back up in a diversion pool, and the elevated levels affect the ability of DWR to operate the power
plant.
Current inflow to the lake is approximately 140,000 cfs and lake elevation is 892 feet, with
approximately 139,000 acre-feet of vacant space in the reservoir.
DWR is coordinating closely with state and federal wildlife and dam safety officials as it responds to
the gated spillway erosion and manages reservoir operations. Those involved in contingency
planning and response include the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, Butte County Sheriff’s Office, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, the state’s
Division of Safety of Dams, CAL FIRE and state and federal wildlife agencies.
Lake conditions, including lake levels, inflows, and outflows can be obtained via a recorded message
at 530-534-2307. More information is available here at
http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cdecapp/resapp/resDetailOrig.action?resid=ORO.

Going to be a big repair, but the dam is safe. The emergency spillway is of concern like Bret said, the erosion and debris being washed down stream. Our unit is on standby, I am on phone duty dispatching people and working with engineers on this and four other issues.

DFW getting it done.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/CaliforniaDFW/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1299987306747400

Lets hope for the best.

Go to Sacramento channel 3 website, they have video of the emergency spillway flowing, started this morning before 9am.

http://www.kcra.com/