California Officials Want Overall Safety Review at Oroville Dam

California officials say they’re ordering a comprehensive safety review at the tallest dam in the U.S. to pinpoint needed upgrades after a dramatic spillway collapse earlier this year.

State Department of Water Resources Deputy Director Joel Ledesma said this week the review of the Oroville Dam will involve federal, state and private experts.

Officials ordered nearly 200,000 people evacuated when Oroville Dam’s main spillway collapsed in February. Authorities now say they have finished repairs to make the spillway operable through the coming rainy season.

An independent panel of national dam experts has said California could have identified the problems that led to the spillway collapse if officials had reviewed problems with the dam’s original design and construction.

Water officials expect to complete the examination of the dam in September 2019.

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