AUBURN, Calif. (Aug. 20, 2024) — Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) is urging customers to continue conserving water into the coming winter months, due to new challenges at a crucial facility owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) at Spaulding Reservoir.
A significant share of PCWA’s water is delivered under contract from PG&E’s Spaulding Reservoir and hydroelectric facilities. This water is delivered via a system of canals and waterways including storage in Rollins Reservoir, which supplies both PCWA and the Nevada Irrigation District (NID).
PG&E experienced multiple infrastructure failures at Spaulding which cut off that water supply starting in March. While a partial restoration of releases from Lake Spaulding to their Drum Canal resumed in late July, repairs to PG&E’s South Yuba Pipe —crucial for resuming water deliveries to NID’s Scotts Flat Reservoir—were anticipated to be repaired by mid-September. However, PCWA and NID were recently notified of new damage to the Spaulding generator that supplies water to the South Yuba Pipe. As a result of this new damage and the need to complete the second phase of repairs to fully restore releases to the Drum Canal, PG&E recently announced that full, system-wide water deliveries from Spaulding may not be restored until summer 2025 at the earliest.
PCWA has avoided water shortages this summer by tapping into other supplies. Also, the efforts of our customers to conserve water have been extremely helpful.
Odds are good that Rollins Reservoir will refill this winter through natural runoff — but not guaranteed. This means PCWA is asking customers to continue to be mindful of their water use until further notice.
“We’re very grateful to our customers for helping us through this challenging summer,” said PCWA General Manager Andy Fecko. “Although the problems are not of our making, our own customers have made the difference through wise water use. We’re working closely with NID to balance the supply and demand of our water resources. We anticipate PG&E will restore full water deliveries as soon as possible.”
Customers have helped by reducing landscape irrigation, fixing leaks, and taking advantage of PCWA appliance rebates. Canal water customers have made a big difference by living with restricted deliveries, and we’re aware this has presented challenges for some. Unfortunately, all these conservation efforts must continue into next year.
In addition, until PG&E’s repairs are completed, and full flows are restored into Rollins Reservoir, PCWA will not be able to approve any new canal water delivery requests.
Customers experiencing hardships as a result of adjusted canal deliveries may contact PCWA at (530) 823-4850 or customerservices@pcwa.net. For conservation tips and rebate offers, customers may visit the “Customer Services” tab on our website at pcwa.net.