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A6 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 1 November 2018

Officials: California dam spillway will be ready for rain

They still need to pour more
concrete to link that splash-
pad with the concrete weir
at the top.
“More than 700 construc-
tion workers ... literally
worked day and night to
make incredible progress
during the 2018 construc-
tion season,” Tony Mey-
ers, project manager for
the Department of Water
Resources, said in a state-
ment. Officials said in Sep-
tember that the cost for
reconstruction had bal-
looned to $1.1 billion and
said the figure could still
rise. The water agency
plans to ask the Federal
Emergency Management
Agency to pay 75 percent
of the repair costs after the
project is finished. The rest
would be borne by State
Water Project customers,
including massive Southern
California water districts.
Last winter crews had a
portion of the spillway re-
built for the rainy season
but were not able to use it
at its full capacity. The wa-
In this Nov. 30, 2017 file photo cranes sit on the sides of the Oroville Dam spillway, Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, in Oroville, Calif. ter level was kept far below
Associated Press normal levels and it was
By JONATHAN J. COOPER be used, the California waters amid persistent and danger passed. never used.
Associated Press Department of Water Re- heavy rains. Then on Feb. State officials promised to With the spillway complete-
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) sources announced. Crews 12, 2017, officials ordered be done with concrete ly fully rebuilt, it can handle
— California water officials will also continue pouring an immediate evacuation, work by Nov. 1 so there water flows up to 270,000
said Wednesday that the concrete on an adjacent fearing that a concrete would be enough time for cubic feet per second
$1.1 billion spillway at the emergency spillway. weir that holds water in the it to dry and be used by (7,645 cubic meters per
nation’s tallest dam will be Both spillways at the dam, lake could collapse within December. With that goal second), the maximum for
in full working order if it’s which is about 150 miles an hour. The panic of the met, crews will need to fill which it was originally de-
needed this winter, nearly (240 kilometers) northeast sudden evacuation turned small holes left by the con- signed in the 1960s.
two years after it was dam- of San Francisco, crum- into frustration and anger struction process, seal joints DWR officials said Wednes-
aged and thousands were bled and fell away during when many of the evacu- and place sand and rock day they’ll again keep the
forced to flee. heavy rains in early 2017, ees found themselves stuck outside the walls. water level low this winter
Crews have finished pour- prompting fears of a cata- in gridlocked traffic hours On the emergency spill- to try and avoid using the
ing concrete on the main strophic release of water. after fleeing the danger way, crews have poured spillway while work contin-
spillway at Oroville Dam, State officials had assured zone. Residents were al- concrete to line a portion ues around it on the emer-
though it still needs to cure the public for days leading lowed home a few days of a hillside to prevent a gency spillway, site clean-
for a month and other work up to the failures that the later after water behind repeat of the erosion that up, road repair and other
is necessary before it can dam could handle rising the dam receded and the caused the 2017 scare. related projects.q