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Assemblyman Asking For Public Opinion On Oroville Dam Spillway Response

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — Months after the historic water release and evacuation of thousands, many who live south of the Oroville Dam are left with questions and concerns.

"What do my constituents want me to advocate for in terms of the aftermath of the Oroville incident?" said Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City).

Gallagher was one of the nearly 200,000 people forced to flee last February over the fear that the Oroville Dam spillway would fail.

"The status quo is certainly not the best," explained Gallagher in a broad statement about the entire situation, "we can certainly do better."

His office developed a 14-question survey addressing the impact of the Oroville spillway crisis.

"It's an opportunity to build trust and share information," explained Gallagher.

Questions range from trust in the Department of Water Resources' ability to maintain and operate the dam, to what financial impact people experienced.

"We continue to live with it every day," said Live Oak Mayor Jason Banks.

The people of his town were also forced to evacuate and some in agriculture experienced damage to crops.

Banks says the survey fills a void of needed information.

"It gives the people an opportunity to directly have their voices heard," said Banks.

Banks says the town hall meetings held by DWR provided good details about their work but didn't allow public comment to fully sink in.

"I don't know that they truly understand the magnitude of which it affected this community and that it still affects this community," Banks explained.

The first comprehensive survey about the personal impact of the Oroville incident will be mailed to 50,000 households that were impacted by the event. | SIGN UP FOR SURVEY

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