Lake Oroville is full to the brim. If you are one of my readers living in Butte County, you already know this. If you are elsewhere I hope you will enjoy seeing the change.

Yesterday I went with my husband Jim and daughter Jean to have a look. It is a glorious sight. No deep dirt rim around the lake anymore — just acres and acres of water. In 2021 the water was so low that it looked like this:

That photo from CNN shows the intake gates at the hydroelectric power plant in the dam. The water was so low that the plant couldn’t function. Today the same gates are under water and can’t be seen.

The spillway has been repaired and is working at full capacity. Water is roaring down into the Feather River. To get an idea of how big that spillway is, notice the two tiny trucks on the right side of the spillway about two-thirds of the way up. dwarfed by the spillway.

In 2017, after a wet winter, the spillway broke, resulting in an emergency evacuation order for the city of Oroville. If you are interested in learning more about the breakup of the spillway, what caused it and how it was repaired, watch this “Practical Engineering” YouTube video. It’s informative and easy to follow.

At 770 feet, Oroville Dam is the tallest dam in the United States. (Hoover Dam is 726 feet high.) Standing by the road that crosses the top of the dam and looking west, you get a beautiful view of the Feather River with the city of Oroville and the Sutter Buttes in the distance. Looking to the east, it’s all blue water and green trees. (The orange barrier in the last photo prevents boats from getting close to the spillway intake.)

Lake Oroville is a State Recreation Area and a great place for boating, swimming, fishing, picnicking, and other outdoor activities. Enjoy it while it’s full!