Water officials on Tuesday lowered the mandatory evacuation for people who live near the Oroville dam in Oroville, California, after stemming erosion of the dam's emergency spillway and -- after determining a recently discovered hole in the main spillway was not growing -- allowed residents back into their neighborhoods for the first time in three days. Pictured, members of law enforcement watch as water rockets into the sky from the damaged section of the main spillway at the dam on February 12, 2017. Photo by Peter Dasilva/EPA
Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Three days after issuing a mandatory evacuation order to residents near the Oroville Dam amid fears an emergency spillway could fail and drown nearby towns under a 30-foot wall of water, officials say the damage has been repaired and people can return to their homes.
Water officials in Northern California lowered the mandatory evacuation order issued Sunday because of a massive crater that opened up on the spillway to an evacuation warning, and residents of Oroville, Yuba City and others along the Feather River returned to their homes.
While more rain is expected later this week, officials say water levels in Lake Oroville are low enough that it can handle the expected rainfall.
Should they get more rain than expected, the officials say the spillway has been repaired in the last several days -- the crater was filled in with boulders and officials say it is no longer eroding -- and should not pose a danger to life or property.
"As a result of these actions, the need for evacuation has been significantly reduced," said Butte County Sheriff Kory Honea. "Looking at the current level of risk, and the predicted strength of the next round of storms and the capacity of the lake to accommodate the rain, we have concluded that it is safe to reduce the order to an evacuation warning."
Officials discovered a large hole in the dam's main spillway last week, believed to have been initially caused by water coming over the top of the dam.
The overflow of water, from extended rains the drought-starved state has not seen in some time, caused the emergency spillway to be used for the first time in its 50 years of existence. The spillway, however, showed dangerous erosion that could have led to a 30-foot wall of water drowning nearby towns.
For the last two days, the officials say they have been aggressively lowering water levels in the lake using the main spillway, just in case they get more rain than expected, and say the water is flowing clear -- which suggests erosion of the spillway has stopped.
California Gov. Jerry Brown said Tuesday the Federal Emergency Management Agency had approved his request for assistance with the dam situation, and water officials said work will continue to fortify the spillways -- especially the emergency one -- to continue avoiding the situation that almost struck the area last weekend.
"Our goal is to remove as much water from the reservoir as possible so we don't have to use it," Bill Croyle, acting director of the state's department of water resources, said of immediate efforts to prevent a repeat later this week. "But as we learned from the past week, we must prepare for all contingencies and additional measures will be taken in the coming days and weeks. We're not going to stop, we're going to keep on it, reduce the risk."
