NEVADA COUNTY, Calif. March 9, 2024 – NID released a notice informing the public of cuts to the Bear River water flows yesterday afternoon. The district cited “unexpected maintenance work in the headwaters” in their release. We can now confirm a shutdown of PG&E’s Spaulding #1 powerhouse is the cause of what could be a prolonged outage in water flows.
According to a PG&E spokesperson:
During a routine inspection at PG&E’s Spaulding 1 powerhouse on March 6, a leak was discovered adjacent to a pressure relief valve. On March 7 a more detailed inspection was made of the PRV [pressure relief valve] and PG&E determined that repairs would need to be made before the powerhouse could be returned to service. The estimated return to service date is April 30. Water from this powerhouse runs into the South Yuba Canal, which provides some of the water supply for the Nevada Irrigation District and the Placer County Water Agency. PG&E has notified both water agencies.
Karly Hernandez, PG&E
Besides the needed repairs at the powerhouse, feeding water into the South Yuba Canal could normally be accomplished by using the South Yuba Pipe and the Spaulding Low Level Outlet. Both are currently out of service due to damage, with the South Yuba Pipe damaged in a rockslide during a recent storm, Hernandez stated.
This morning, PG&E clarified their statement, adding:
The powerhouse is being taken offline to provide a safe working environment for the team to make repairs… PG&E’s alternatives to provide water to the South Yuba Canal and Bear River are dependent on the South Yuba Pipe which is currently out of service due to damage from a rockslide during a recent storm. PG&E has initiated an emergency project to return the pipe to service. The location of the damaged section of pipe, snow accumulation and inability to address the stability of the slide area is inhibiting safe access and working conditions. Long lead time material have been ordered and repair plans developed to expedite repairs once safe access is established.
Paul Moreno, PG&E
Spaulding #1 Powerhouse is located downstream of Lake Spaulding and discharges, along with the Spaulding No. 1 Powerhouse bypass, up to 840 cfs into Drum Canal, which is a part of the Drum No. 1 and No. 2 Development. The powerhouse features semi-automatic operation and is scheduled as base-loaded for downstream water demand. Spaulding No. 1 Powerhouse has an installed capacity of 7.0 MW with a synchronous generator and one Francis turbine with a nameplate hydraulic capacity of 600 cfs. The power house is fed by a 963-ft-long, 104-inch-diameter rock tunnel that diverts up to 600 cfs of water from Lake Spaulding.
Local water districts affected by the outage
At this time, there is some water in the South Yuba Canal, the Bear River and Deer Creek from natural runoff and snowmelt.
PG&E will be relying on natural flows, water stored in Rollins Reservoir as well as water from PG&E’s Lake Valley Reservoir to supplement NID and PCWA water demands until repairs to the Spaulding 1 Powerhouse are completed, Moreno clarified this morning.
“We anticipate we’ll be able to meet the demand for approximately 50 days, which is around the April 30 estimated return to service date for Spaulding 1 powerhouse,” Hernandez stated in an email to YubaNet last night.
At this time, NID does not expect any impacts to their customers. Irrigation season within the NID and PCWA systems typically starts on April 15 and runs through mid-October. It is unknown if the start of the irrigation seasonal water delivery is affected by the outage – we will bring you updates as they become available.