http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-oroville-spillway-20170424-story.html
Water under Oroville spillway probably caused February collapse, state consultants say
Bettina Boxall
4/24/17
Official reports released Monday say the catastrophic damage to Oroville Dam’s main spillway probably stemmed from swift water flows under the concrete chute, which was cracked and of uneven thickness.
The observations, contained in consultants’ reports prepared for the state Department of Water Resources, echo much of an independent assessment made for UC Berkeley’s Center for Catastrophic Risk Management.
An official verdict on the cause is not due until the fall, when a separate forensics team investigating the February spillway break will submit its report.
But a Board of Consultants reviewing the state’s repair plans noted several problems with the spillway’s original design and construction.
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http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article146429894.html
April 25, 2017 12:01 AM
Fixing Oroville Dam will cost hundreds of millions. Who should pay the bill?
By Jim Miller
jmiller@sacbee.com
The damage has been done and the repair contract awarded. Yet more than two months after damaged spillways at the Oroville Dam prompted authorities to order the evacuation of 188,000 people, the question of who will ultimately pay the bill remains murky.
How much will be the responsibility of homeowners, businesses, farmers and other customers of the more than two dozen local and regional agencies that contract with the State Water Project? The 700-mile network of canals, pipelines and lakes, including Lake Oroville, brings water mostly from Northern California to parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, Central Valley and Southern California.
What will be the cost to state taxpayers, who have approved billions of dollars in borrowing to pay for flood prevention and dam-related work, most of which has already been spoken for? Will the federal government have a role after the Trump administration’s recent approval of $274 million to cover emergency repair costs from mid-February through May?
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