Grass Valley, Calif. May 23, 2024 – During yesterday’s Nevada Irrigation District (NID) Board of Directors meeting, the update on the ongoing PG&E infrastructure outages and repairs at Spaulding was a mixed bag. While repairs at the Powerhouse #1 are on track to be completed by mid-June, restoring half the powerhouse flow capacity through the irrigation season, the South Yuba Pipe repairs won’t be completed until late August, according to PG&E government liaison Brandon Sanders.
Heavier pipe needs concrete footings, delaying repairs
According to a social media post by PG&E spokesperson Paul Moreno, “In February, about 240 feet of PG&E’s South Yuba Pipe was damaged in a winter storm rockslide, and snow and the wet hillside prevented crews from safely accessing the site until April. PG&E was able to procure materials to repair the South Yuba Pipe sooner than initially expected. The South Yuba Pipe carries water from the Spaulding 2 powerhouse to the Nevada Irrigation District’s (NID) South Yuba Canal. Because the material is available sooner, PG&E consulted with NID about forgoing a temporary plastic pipe repair to instead focus on a permanent repair with steel pipe, which is expected to be completed by late August. Once repaired, additional water can flow from the Spaulding 2 powerhouse into the South Yuba Canal.”
Yesterday, Sanders clarified the pipe PG&E was able to procure is thicker than the original pipe and therefore concrete footings need to constructed to replace existing wood or stacked masonry footings. At NID’s previous Board meeting, PG&E gave an August 1st deadline to have repairs on the South Yuba Pipe completed. Director Heck asked if the extended deadline was due to procurement not talking to design when ordering the pipe. Sanders stated the design, engineering and construction processes are occurring concurrently.
PG&E has completed “rock scaling,” the removal of rocks that could potentially slide downhill. According to Sanders, vegetation has also been removed. PG&E will soon be installing work platforms on the hillside, due to the steepness of the slope, to support footing installation and eventually pipe replacement. “You can’t just drive a backhoe to it.”
On a side note, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) responded to PG&E’s request to immediately proceed with construction of the South Yuba Canal pipe replacement by authorizing the work, with some conditions.
The resume for a person included in their request letter “does not provide sufficient experience that is commensurate with the work being proposed. Update the resume to include additional experience or alternatively, propose an additional inspector with experience that is commensurate with the work.”
FERC also requires PG&E provide additional information on foundation material to be used for the new footings, including design calculations for the concrete and widened concrete footings. “Failure to adequately address our comments within 10 days will require a suspension of all work until the comments are addressed.”
Scotts Flat lake will be low, but not drought-like
The Cascade Shores boat ramp is expected to be out of the water by mid-August, the main boat ramp is projected to stay in the water throughout the season. The lake is expected to be at half of its 50,000-acre feet storage by the end of August.
Flows on the South Yuba remain high
With no water being diverted to the Drum or South Yuba canals, water flows on the South Yuba are expected to remain well above average until mid-July. For the upcoming holiday weekend, the flow forecast has been reduced. PG&E’s current estimate is 1000-1600 cfs. As of publication time, flows at the 49 bridge were at 2,103 cfs and 4,929 cfs below Englebright Dam.
