Dramatic aerial photographs of California’s Oroville dam have provided a better look at damage to the spillway after a intense flooding.
On Friday, California Governor Jerry Brown proposed spending $437 million for flood control and emergency response and preparedness, days after damage to the dam, which is the tallest in the U.S., led to the evacuation of nearly 200,000 people downstream.
READ MORE: What happened to California’s Oroville Dam spillway and why have so many been evacuated?
Damage to both the regular spillway and its emergency counterpart at the Oroville Dam earlier this month brought issues with aging infrastructure into sharp relief in a state that relies on a complex system of dams and reservoirs to irrigate farms and provide drinking water for nearly 40 million people
Nearly 200,000 people were forced to flee their homes in mid-February due to fears the damaged spillway would fail and unleash a wall of water on the communities below. Dams are designed to handle overflow using these “spillways.” Engineers can release excess water through these chutes in a controlled manner in order to prevent flooding.
In an effort to stabilize the spillway, giant white bags were filled with rocks and helicopters released them in the spillway’s erosion. Dump trucks full of boulders also are dumping their cargo on the damaged spillway. The sheer amount of debris can be seen from aerial photos released by the California Department of Water Resources this week.
Brown said he requesting financial and regulatory assistance from the federal government in a letter that he said would be sent to President Donald Trump on Friday for assistance in the region.
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