Lake Oroville Update - September 12, 2025

Construction Work to Temporarily Close Hatchery Facility to the Public

The Department of Water Resources (DWR) continues work on a $1.9 million paving and sealing project to rehabilitate seven locations owned and maintained by the department that are heavily used by maintenance staff and public members. Project work is expected to continue through November 2025. Vintage Paving Company, Inc. of Winters, Calif. is the contractor for the project.

Upcoming construction work will require closures to the following public areas:

• Aug. 18 - Sept. 30: Afterbay Dam Crest Road/Brad Freeman Trail south of State Route 162 to the East Hamilton Road Trail Access
• Sept. 18: Feather River Fish Hatchery - including the hatchery facility, lower public parking lots, and river access road under the green bridge
• Sept. 19: Feather River Fish Hatchery - including the hatchery facility and upper public parking lot.

Additional locations for future paving, sealing, and guardrail work include:

• Thermalito Powerplant Access Roads
• Thermalito Diversion Dam Powerplant
• Thermalito Power Canal Access Road

• Oroville Field Division Operations and Maintenance Center at Glen Drive
• Canyon Drive from the intersection of Oroville Dam Blvd. E./Royal Oaks Drive heading north to the dam and upper overlook
• Oroville Dam Boulevard East near Oro Powerhouse Road

DWR will provide more details about scheduled work and potential public access impacts in future newsletters. Work schedules are subject to change based on weather and the availability of equipment and materials.

Hatchery Fish Ladder Opening

Chinook salmon are completing their life cycle and returning home to the Feather River to lay eggs for the next generation of salmon. With their return, spawning activities are set to begin at the Feather River Fish Hatchery with the fish ladder opening on Monday, Sept. 15.

Visitors to the Hatchery's fish barrier dam overlook viewing area can view salmon congregating and jumping in the Feather River and see them up close through the underwater viewing window as they swim up the fish ladder. The overlook is located off Table Mountain Boulevard, east of the green bridge and across from the main hatchery facility. The fish ladder is expected to remain open through June 2026 for viewing opportunities.

DWR is reminding public members that the Hatchery's lower parking lot providing access to the fish barrier dam and viewing windows will be closed Thursday, Sept. 18 for parking lot striping. The main Hatchery facility will be closed to the public Sept. 18-19 for construction activities.

The Feather River Fish Hatchery's spawning operations rear millions of Chinook salmon to be released every spring in the waters of the Feather River, San Pablo Bay, and San Francisco Bay to support Central Valley and Pacific Ocean fisheries. DWR owns and maintains the facility and provides funding to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) for its spawning, rearing, and stocking operations.

Feather River Floating Classrooms

DWR's free Feather River Floating Classroom raft tours are returning this fall! Sponsored and developed by DWR, the Floating Classroom program takes participants through Feather River spawning habitat while DWR and Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission scientists provide information on Chinook salmon conservation efforts, ongoing and planned research, restoration and monitoring projects, and fisheries management activities supported by the State Water Project.

Free rafting tours this fall are scheduled each Saturday starting Oct. 4 through Nov. 8. Each Saturday will have two floating classroom sessions with limited seats. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-served basis with up to four free tickets available per unique registration. Reserve your FREE floating classroom ticket on Eventbrite.

Golden Mussel Inspection Program

More details about DWR's mussel inspection program are available at water.ca.gov/mussels.

Watercraft Inspection Location/Decontamination Services

North Thermalito Forebay at Garden Drive and HWY 70 in Oroville

Hours of operation: Daily from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Sealed Vessel Launching

Lake Oroville

Ramp hours: Daily from 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

• Spillway
• Bidwell Canyon

Extended Ramp hours: Daily from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

• Lime Saddle
• Loafer Creek

Thermalito Afterbay

Ramp hours: Daily from 1.5 hours before sunrise to 1 hour after sunset

• Monument Hill

Thermalito Forebay

Ramp Hours: Daily from 8 a.m. to sunset

• North Forebay (Non-motorized vessels only)

Feather River Fish Monitoring Station

Between Jan. 30 and April 20, high flows in the Feather River required the temporary removal of fish monitoring equipment resulting in lower spring-run estimates. Upstream migrating fish totals through the Feather River Fish Monitoring Station between Jan. 1 and Sept. 4, 2025 are:

• Spring-run Chinook salmon (April 16 through June 30): 17,743
• Fall-run Chinook salmon (July 1 through present): 751
• Steelhead: 208
• To see previous year data, visit CalFish.org.

Current Lake Operations

Lake Oroville is at 811 feet elevation and storage is approximately 2.23 million acre-feet (MAF), which is 65 percent of its total capacity and 111 percent of the historical average.

Feather River flows are at 650 cubic feet per second (cfs) through the City of Oroville with 4,350 cfs being released from the Thermalito Afterbay River Outlet (Outlet) for a total Feather River release of 5,000 cfs downstream. DWR continues to assess Feather River releases daily.

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 11:59 p.m. on 9/11/2025.