California Water News Daily Your Source For Water News in California
In what can only be another good sign for California’s drought crisis, the Department of Water Resources (DWR) switched back on the hydropower generation at the Hyatt Powerplant at Oroville Dam in Butte County.
The plant was taken offline August 5 due to historic low lake levels driven by the state’s ongoing severe drought conditions. The recent series of storms raised lake levels sufficiently and provided colder water in the reservoir to allow operations to resume. As of Tuesday, Lake Oroville had rebounded to 716 feet elevation.
“This is a significant milestone as California sees some relief from drought conditions,” said DWR Director Karla Nemeth. “Providing clean hydropower to the state energy grid allows DWR to assist in meeting the state’s clean energy goals.”
According to DWR, the plant is using one generating unit to produce electricity for the time-being. Average outflows of about 900 cubic feet per second will generate approximately 30 megawatts of power. As lake levels rise and demands increase, additional units will be brought back online.
