MARYSVILLE, Calif. (April 2, 2018) – While blue skies and shining sun are all that is visible today, a rather large storm is expected at the end of the week. The Yuba County Water Agency is issuing a warning for the public to expect rapidly increasing flows on the lower Yuba River beginning Tuesday, as the agency will release more water from New Bullards Bar to make room in the reservoir for the upcoming storm flows.
The weather forecast is calling for a storm of similar or slightly greater magnitude than the last event, with more than 5 inches of rainfall predicted in the upper Yuba watershed Thursday and Friday. To make room in the reservoir for flood risk reduction purposes, YCWA will begin to release 5,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) at 9 a.m. Tuesday, April 3. Currently, no water is being released from the spillway. The plan is to increase that spill up to 8,000 cfs on Wednesday. Unless the forecast changes to show the storm increasing in size, that would be the maximum flow released.
The lower Yuba River is expected to reach 40,000 cfs at the peak of the storm. That amount should not raise any concern for the levees, as the channel capacity of the Yuba River is 180,000 cfs.
River flow predictions are preliminary and are provided for informational purposes only.
“The flows are subject to real-time changes in the weather and runoff conditions,” said Curt Aikens, general manager of the Yuba County Water Agency. “For your personal safety, anyone on or near the river should always be cautious and be aware of changing weather, river conditions and the very cold water.”