A utility worker looks toward water being released down an amergency spillway at the Oroville Dam. Erosion near an Oroville reservoir emergency spillway was first predicted in court documents filed by environmentalists more than a decade ago. “Because the area downstream from the emergency spillway crest is an unlined hillside, significant erosion of the hillside would occur,” the document said. According to the California Department of Water Resources, that’s exactly what happened. But that allowed the lake to fill beyond capacity, which forced water to flow over the emergency spillway on Saturday.

Source: Los Angeles Times February 13, 2017 23:45 UTC