December 10, 2016 – Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is cautioning those recreating along the South Yuba River to be aware of higher and changing flows brought on by recent rains.
PG&E’s Lake Spaulding in Nevada County could fill and the dam could begin spilling as soon as Saturday evening as abundant rain this fall fills the reservoir.
Should the dam spill, flows on the South Yuba River could increase several fold and will be above the normal season flows for this time of year. Fortunately, the river can accommodate much higher flows like those that occur during the wettest months of winter.
PG&E recommends anyone recreating near rivers and streams to be aware of the higher flows and take precautions. At PG&E the safety of the public and our employees is our top priority.
The dam could spill for several days, depending on rains.
Flows would be higher along about 40 miles of the South Yuba River between Lake Spaulding in Nevada County and Englebright Lake in Yuba County.
It’s not unusual for PG&E ‘s reservoirs to fill in normal winters as they tend to be smaller and at much higher elevations than the state and federal multi-year water storage reservoirs like Shasta Lake and Lake Oroville. PG&E’s reservoirs are designed to capture rain and snow melt runoff in winter, spring and early summer to generate clean, renewable hydroelectric power.