{"id":3175,"date":"2025-06-12T14:32:31","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T22:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/?page_id=3175"},"modified":"2025-10-06T08:52:21","modified_gmt":"2025-10-06T16:52:21","slug":"oroville-spillways-emergency-recovery","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/?page_id=3175","title":{"rendered":"Oroville Spillways Emergency Recovery"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lettis Consultants International (LCI) served as the <strong>lead geologic consulting firm<\/strong> to the <strong>California Department of Water Resources (DWR)<\/strong> during the emergency response and reconstruction of the Oroville Dam spillways&#8211;one of the most high-profile dam safety projects in U.S. history.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Lettis Consultants International (LCI) served as the <strong>lead geologic consulting firm<\/strong> to the <strong>California Department of Water Resources (DWR)<\/strong> during the emergency response and reconstruction of the Oroville Dam spillways&#8211;one of the most high-profile dam safety projects in U.S. history. Following the 2017 spillway incident, LCI mobilized a team of over 30 geologists and 5 GIS specialists to provide <strong>geologic mapping, excavation monitoring, slope stability evaluation<\/strong>, and <strong>construction support<\/strong> throughout the recovery effort. Working closely with DWR, the <strong>U.S. Bureau of Reclamation<\/strong>, and the <strong>U.S. Army Corps of Engineers<\/strong>, LCI designed and executed a large-scale <strong>geologic and geotechnical site characterization program<\/strong> to support both emergency stabilization and long-term reconstruction planning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This effort included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Logging over <strong>150 boreholes<\/strong> totaling more than 10,000 feet of rock core<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Conducting <strong>seismic refraction<\/strong> and other geophysical surveys<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Installing and monitoring <strong>piezometers and inclinometers<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Performing detailed <strong>foundation mapping<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Synthesizing data from mapping and exploration into a comprehensive site<strong> characterization model<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"602\" src=\"https:\/\/lettis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_1-1024x602.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3179\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_1-1024x602.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_1-300x176.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_1-768x452.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_1.jpg 1078w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image credit: California Department of Water Resources (2017)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Precision Mapping with Drone and GIS Technologies<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">LCI\u2019s team of GIS specialists played a key role in supporting geologic and engineering teams through <strong>drone-based remote sensing, orthophoto generation, and real-time GIS data integration<\/strong>. These tools enabled precise documentation and interpretation of over <strong>50 acres of excavated and cleaned spillway foundations<\/strong>, mapped at high resolution (1:60 and 1:120 scales) within tight (3-day) time windows, directly supporting design and construction decisions without delaying construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a id=\"_msocom_1\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" src=\"https:\/\/lettis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_3-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3182\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_3-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_3-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_3-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_3.jpg 1079w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image credit: California Department of Water Resources (2017)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">LCI also supported the <strong>Independent Forensic Team<\/strong> by conducting targeted forensic investigations through the damaged spillway to better understand failure mechanisms insights that informed final design and regulatory review. <strong>Ensuring Safety, Quality, and Regulatory Compliance<\/strong> LCI collaborated with DWR to develop foundation preparation specifications and provided approval support for cleaned foundation surfaces prior to concrete placement. All work was completed under oversight from the <strong>Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) <\/strong>and the <strong>California Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD)<\/strong> to ensure adherence to the highest safety and quality standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"639\" src=\"https:\/\/lettis.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_2-1024x639.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3181\" srcset=\"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_2-1024x639.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_2-300x187.jpg 300w, https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_2-768x480.jpg 768w, https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_2-480x300.jpg 480w, https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_2-640x400.jpg 640w, https:\/\/lettisci.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/LCI_team_2.jpg 1153w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Image credit: California Department of Water Resources (2017)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With deep expertise in engineering geology, geologic mapping, emergency response, GIS integration, and construction-phase geological services, LCI helped ensure that Oroville\u2019s rebuilt spillways were delivered safely, on time, and to a standard that protects downstream communities for generations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lettis Consultants International (LCI) served as the lead geologic consulting firm to the California Department of Water Resources (DWR) during the emergency response and reconstruction of the Oroville Dam spillways&#8211;one &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3192,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-3175","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3175"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3175\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3334,"href":"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3175\/revisions\/3334"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3192"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lettisci.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}