Took a look at the forecast https://www.windytv.com/overlays?rainAccu,next6d,40.103,-120.948,7 And it says 106 mm of rain in the area this week, that is definitely not going to do the situation any better...
Edit: I also have a question: Who was the genius that came up with the bright idea to let the emergency spillway be unprotected?
Yes, we are expecting more rain starting in the middle of the week, but that isn't the only reason for the high water levels. We have a substantial snow pack in California this year (something like 175% of average) and these last few weather systems that have moved through are relatively warm and are melting the snow pack so even though it's not raining right now the rivers and streams are still all very high.
Dam operators never want to use the emergency spillway, it is a measure of last resort, The emergency spillway is just that, for emergencies. The flow out of the emergency spillway isn't controlled there are no gates to increase or decrease flow rates. The water is literally about to come over the top of the dam. The emergency spillway came into play because the operators had to decrease flows out of the main spillway to inspect the damage from the large hole that appeared in the main spillways face. Even after they resumed using the main spillway they couldn't release water fast enough to keep the water from topping the dam.
Sik
