New forensic report suggests that faulty design and maintenance caused the dam to break earlier this year.

The report published by the Oroville Dam Spillway Incident Independent Forensics team specified the causes of the February 7th Oroville Dam malfunction.

According to the report, almost every facet of the dam from its construction to maintenance, was deemed faulty in keeping the structure in working shape.

Water was allowed to seep under its floor and build up over time, lifting concrete slabs flowing down its chute and eventually terminating the structures integrity.

The review specified that the design flaws may have been due to the relaxation of standards in coincidence to design assumption.

Additionally, the board remarked that there were definite citations of the dam’s shortcomings that had been purposely overlooked by those in charge.

The dam is continues under reconstruction, with administrative oversight.

Further information can be reached at the Oroville Dam Spillway Incident webpage.

Cameron O’brien can be reached at [email protected] or @cameronbrien on Twitter.