The water level at Lake Oroville is rising to its highest level in nearly three weeks.
The gates to the reservoir's main spillway were closed back on February 27th so that crews could work on removing a massive pile of debris at its base.
On Wednesday evening, the lake neared 860 feet -- a level managers had earlier said they did not expect to reach during the spillway closure.
The lake's capacity tops off at 901 feet.
California Department of Water Resources Spokeswoman Lauren Bisnett says the elevated level is being closely monitored.
She says warm weather conditions in the forecast are not yet a concern regarding runoff from the surrounding snowpack.
"Spring runoff has less to do with warming temperatures here because it can still be cool in the mountain regions," Bisnett says. "Further factors influencing spring runoff include the angle of the sun and precipitation falling on snow, so we continue to closely monitor and prepare for conditions as they evolve."
DWR says it has increased water outflow through the Hyatt Power Plant near the base of the dam with all five available generators now in use.
Managers say based on this and weather forecasts, they may not have to open the damaged spillway until a week from Friday.
The lake's current level can be seen here.
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