Historic Low Water Levels Force Hydroelectric Power Plant Shut-off at Lake Oroville

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KQED

News, News Commentary, Politics

4.2 • 727 Ratings

🗓️ 10 August 2021

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

California’s fourth largest hydroelectric plant, Hyatt Powerplant at Lake Oroville, has been shut down due to lack of water for the first time in its nearly 60 year history. This after water levels sank to 24% of the lake’s capacity, in what the Department of Water Resources attributed to “climate-induced drought.” We discuss the effects of California’s drought on the power supply and what steps the state is taking to make up for the loss of water and hydroelectric power. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:33.6	From KQED.
0:35.6	Welcome back to Forum. I'm Mina Kim.
0:39.3	California's second largest reservoir.
0:41.3	Lake Oroville is low, so low, in fact, that late last week the state was forced to shut down its hydroelectric power plant there.
0:49.3	Water officials called it one of many, quote,
0:52.3	unprecedented impacts we're experiencing in California
0:55.0	as a result of our climate-induced drought. For more on that impact, we're joined now by Dan
1:00.7	Brecki, editor and reporter for KQED News. Hi, Dan. Hi, Mina. Thanks for coming on. I saw Justin
1:08.1	Sullivan's shocking images of Lake Orville that you posted, I think, more than a week ago.
1:13.3	The lake really is so low.
1:15.8	Can you put in context for us just how low it is?
1:20.8	It's lower than it's been since it was filled in the late 1960s.
	...

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