it could also be that this is what things look like when you don’t have a dam, damming things up - there’s your ‘liberated’ water !
This “update” goes back to late June, but it’s tough to find a better source for Lake Oroville news than Juan Browne: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikNGuuiKiHc&list=PL6SYmp3qb3uNAomRzKzRpxht5LmbhO9_X&index=2