OROVILLE, CALIF.—Water started flowing over an emergency spillway at the nation’s tallest dam, on Lake Oroville, for the first time Saturday after erosion damaged the Northern California dam’s main spillway. Water began running over the emergency spillway around 8 a.m., according to California’s Department of Water Resources. It was the first time the emergency spillway has been used in the reservoir’s nearly 50-year history. Water was expected to continuing flowing over the emergency spillway for 38 to 56 hours, agency spokesman Eric See said at a news conference Saturday afternoon. In addition to the emergency spillway, water is also flowing through the main spillway that was significantly damaged from erosion, he said.

Source: thestar February 11, 2017 21:22 UTC