Oroville Spillway Failures – February 2017

In February 2017, heavy rainfall in the Feather River basin led to outflows
through Oroville Dam. Spillway slab failure occurred  resulting in erosion and damage. Gated
releases ceased for damage assessments and the lake level was allowed to rise
over the emergency spillway crest, that then also experienced significant
erosion. The scenario resulted in evacuation of large numbers downstream in preparation for a failure
event.