Tallest US dam's spillway working again

Officials at the US' tallest dam unleashed water down a rebuilt spillway on Tuesday for the first time since it crumbled two years ago and drove hundreds of thousands of California residents from their homes over fears of catastrophic flooding.

Oroville: Water was released down a rebuilt spillway of United State's tallest dam on Tuesday. Water was released for the first time since it had crumbled two years ago resulting in the evacuation of hundreds of California residents from their homes over fears of catastrophic floods.

"The decision to use the main spillway was a result of following the normal operation plan to help provide flood protection to downstream communities. Public safety has driven all of our decisions as we have rebuilt the Oroville spillway including reconstructing the main spillway in just two years," Joel Ledesma, deputy director of the department's State Water Project said.

The spring storms follow a very wet winter that coated the mountains with thick snowpack, which state experts coincidentally measured Tuesday to determine the outlook for California's water supplies. It was 162% of average after heavy winter rain and snow left the state drought-free for the first time since December 2011.

The main spillway "was designed and constructed using 21st century engineering practices and under the oversight and guidance from state and federal regulators and independent experts," said Ledesma.