Key Issues

The dam fuels California’s growth by storing water and generating hydropower for DWR’s State Water Project, which serves an area with a GDP of $2.3 trillion
Butte County does not receive a share of this wealth, despite bearing all the local impacts, including increased medical calls, road wear, and public safety demands
County services are overburdened and underfunded, while DWR profits from local resources
No power-sharing from the dam’s operations, despite hosting it
The river, which was once a gem of a destination for recreation, including swimming and fishing, is now too cold to swim in and too cold for some of the fish that historically populated it

When Butte County agreed to host the largest dam in the State, they had to sacrifice land, homes, and property tax revenue. In return, the State promised tourism-driven prosperity to offset the financial burden
Today, many of those promised recreational facilities were never built, denying the region economic growth from tourism
Tribal and rural communities are impacted, losing both cultural sites and development opportunities

DWR’s neglect and operational lapses of the dam led to life-threatening incidents
The 2017 spillway failure put nearly 200,000 lives at risk and exposed decades of deferred maintenance
Butte County bore rescue costs, and residents suffered millions in damages