Lake Oroville Update - December 13, 2024
A view of the salmon spawning operations, where personnel harvest and fertilize eggs, at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville, California. The facility was built between 1966 and 1967 by the California Department of Water Resources and operated by the Department of Fish and Wildlife, to compensate for spawning grounds lost to returning salmon and steelhead trout with the construction of Oroville Dam. Each year, roughly 9,000 to 18,000 salmon and 2,000 steelhead are spawned and raised at the hatchery. 
Salmon Spawning Operations
Annual Chinook salmon spawning activities at the Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville have been completed. The Hatchery collected enough eggs to meet its normal production goal of 2 million spring-run fingerlings and 6 million fall-run fingerlings, with additional eggs collected to increase production this year. Another 1 million spring-run and 6 million fall-run Chinook salmon will be produced to address declines in Central Valley Chinook salmon populations during recent years.
The hatchery’s spawning process collects eggs from returning adult females and milt (sperm) from returning adult male Chinook salmon to fertilize the eggs. After fertilization, the eggs are placed in incubators to develop for approximately 85 days. Once they reach the fry stage and can consume food, they will either be released into the Feather River or transferred to long ponds called raceways at the facility to grow into fingerlings. Chinook salmon fingerlings raised at the Hatchery will be released in the Feather River and San Francisco Bay between March and June to support inland and ocean populations. In addition, DWR and CDFW continued thiamine treatments to combat B1 vitamin deficiencies. This treatment improves the health of the fish, increasing the survival of Chinook salmon from egg to juvenile.
The Feather River Fish Hatchery is a California State Water Project (SWP) facility built in the late 1960s by the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) to mitigate impacts on fish migration resulting from the construction of Oroville Dam. DWR owns and maintains the facility and provides funding to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to perform spawning, rearing, and stocking operations.
Driftwood Abatement at Lake Oroville
DWR’s civil maintenance crews will begin deploying log booms within the next few weeks throughout the various branches of Lake Oroville to capture floating woody debris before it reaches the main body of the lake. With the rainy season underway, inflows into Lake Oroville are expected to increase with strong storms from atmospheric rivers. These higher inflows wash woody debris into the reservoir, which can impact water infrastructure and present a hazard to boaters. Over the next few months, DWR crews will be collecting, containing, and pulling larger pieces of wood out of the lake and away from shoreline areas using boom lines.
DWR crews spent a significant amount of time collecting woody debris in Lake Oroville in 2023 and 2024 following heavy storms and high reservoir levels with over 19,000 cubic yards of woody vegetation collected. Floating debris removal ensures continued infrastructure operations and the safety of the recreating public on Lake Oroville. However, boaters and other water recreationists should take precautions when operating watercrafts on Lake Oroville and should remain alert for floating debris.
Snow-Cember at the Visitor Center
Stop by the Lake Oroville Visitor Center each weekend in December for free winter-themed craft activities for kids three-years-old and up! Located at 917 Kelly Ridge Road in Oroville, the Visitor Center is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Snow-cember weekend craft activities include:
- Dec. 14-15: Snowman countdown garland
- Dec. 21-22: Paper plate snow globes
- Dec. 28-29: Snowman yarn puppets
Staffed by knowledgeable guides, the Lake Oroville Visitor Center features interpretive displays on Oroville Dam, area geology, wildlife and habitat, hydroelectric power, and cultural and historical artifacts. View videos in the theater about the construction of Oroville Dam, walk or hike along nearby trails, and visit the 47-foot-tall observation tower that provides unsurpassed panoramic views of surrounding areas. Free guided tours for school and community groups are available by reservation. Parking and admission to the Visitor Center are free.
Lakeside Access Road Closed
Rising reservoir levels at Lake Oroville from recent storms have required the closure of Lakeside Access Road at Oroville Dam. While Lakeside Access Road is closed, vehicle access to the Spillway Boat Ramp and Day Use Area is available daily between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m., with all vehicles and trailers subject to inspection by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) for security purposes. There are three other boat ramps at Lake Oroville that are open 24 hours per day and do not entail CHP inspections: Bidwell Canyon, Loafer Point, and Lime Saddle.
Oroville Recreation
Lake Oroville is one of the State Water Project’s premier recreational destinations and one of California’s best fishing spots. The lake provides both warm-water and cold-water fisheries, with excellent bass fishing opportunities during the fall and winter months. Be sure to check California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) fishing regulations before fishing. The marinas at Bidwell Canyon and Lime Saddle are open daily and provide a variety of services including a convenience store, gas, boat rentals, and more.
DWR, the California Department of Parks and Recreation (State Parks), and CDFW maintain over 92 miles of trails in the Oroville area. An interactive map of recreation facilities, including open trails and their permitted uses (hike, bike, horse, multi), is available on DWR’s Lake Oroville Recreation webpage. A paper trail map is available at various locations, including most entrance kiosks and the Lake Oroville Visitor Center.
Upstream migrating fish totals through the Feather River Fish Monitoring Station between Jan. 1 and Nov. 24 are:
- Spring-run Chinook salmon (March 1 through June 30): 7,152
- Fall-run Chinook salmon (July 1 through present): 39,846
- Steelhead: 1,710
Current Lake Operations
Lake Oroville is at 785 feet elevation and storage is approximately 1.94 million acre-feet (MAF), which is 57 percent of its total capacity and 108 percent of the historical average.
Feather River flows are at 800 cubic feet per second (cfs) through the City of Oroville with 950 cfs being released from the Thermalito Afterbay River Outlet (Outlet) for a total Feather River release of 1,750 cfs downstream. DWR continues to assess Feather River releases daily.
In November a series of atmospheric rivers brought heavy rainfall to Northern California, with Lake Oroville experiencing an approximate 26-foot rise in elevation between Nov. 19 and Nov. 30 due to runoff. Incoming weekend storms are expected to further raise water levels at Lake Oroville, but with the reservoir currently at 56 percent of its total capacity, there is still ample storage to capture storm runoff while providing flood control protection for the Feather River and downstream communities. Water inflows to the reservoir during November storms were as high as 64,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) while outflows in the Feather River through Oroville remained at a minimum of 800 cfs. DWR took advantage of the recent storm systems to capture as much water as possible in Lake Oroville, while continuing to support environmental and water delivery needs to 27 million Californians.
The public can track precipitation, snow, reservoir levels, and more at the California Data Exchange Center. The Lake Oroville gage station is identified as “ORO.”
All data as of midnight 12/12/2024.