Known as the second-largest reservoir in California, Lake Oroville is treated as a keystone facility within the California State Water Project by storing water, providing flood control, recreation, freshwater releases to assist in controlling the salinity intrusion into the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and protecting fish and wildlife.

The local indigenous tribe were the Konkow Maidu (translation is 'man') who originally settled the lake region and Feather River for many years.

Lake Oroville plays an important role in flood management, water quality, and the health of fisheries affecting areas downstream like the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

During the warm season, the primary source of streamflow is melting snow, occurring April 1 – July 31, and Lake Oroville receives about 40 percent of the annual total inflow.

The lake's storage and releases are a key part of the hydropower and water-supply facilities of the Oroville Complex, the reason it's a pillar and major source of flexibility of the SWP.

[11] The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) licenses hydroelectric facilities such as the Edward Hyatt Power Plant at Oroville Dam.

California's Department of Water Resources and stakeholders recently participated in a six-year renewal process for a 50-year hydroelectric license for the Oroville Facilities.

Each day the allowable level within the range is recalculated using an index reflecting the watershed wetness and the anticipation of heavy runoff from incoming storms.

People like to look through the two high-powered telescopes on the 47-foot tall tower to see the lake, Sierra Nevada, valley, foothills, and the Sutter Buttes mountain range.

People can fish for largemouth, smallmouth, and spotted bass, Chinook, catfish, mackinaw, sturgeon, white crappie and brown trout.

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has developed a safe eating advisory for Lake Oroville based on levels of mercury or PCBs found in fish caught from this water body.

A key component of Lake Oroville is the hatchery that manages thriving populations of Chinook salmon and steelhead trout for the Feather River ecosystem.

The main goal of Domingo Springs, built in 1916, was to supply fish to the lakes and streams in Lassen National Park and the surrounding area.

The next phase, built near Clio in Plumas County, was a 60 trout hatchery building and employee cabins that operated for 30 years.

[18] Today the hatchery is managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife raising spring and fall-run Chinook salmon and steelhead along the Feather River, directly below Lake Oroville.

The first section located on the east side of Table Mountain Boulevard includes: fish barrier dam, observation platform and underwater viewing.

The second section located on the west side of Table Mountain Boulevard includes: spawning room, hatchery and rearing ponds.

They display a wide array of life history patterns allowing them to live in the diverse, variable riverine and ocean environments.

There are seventeen distinct runs of Chinook salmon recognized in California, classified into six major groups or evolutionarily significant units.

[28] The power plant also routinely draws up to 5,610 cu ft/s (159 m3/s)[27][dead link‍] of Feather River water for "pumpback" into Lake Oroville.