Yuba/ Bear Whitewater Flow Study (CA)
Yuba-Bear/Drum-Spaulding Projects Whitewater Boating Flow Survey Study
Nevada Irrigation District (NID) and Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) are partnering
with American Whitewater to identify a preferred range of whitewater boating flows on numerous
reaches on the Middle Yuba, South Yuba, Bear River, Fordyce Creek, Canyon Creek and North Fork of
the North Fork American rivers. NID operates the Yuba-Bear Project and PG&E operates
the Drum-Spaulding Project in these watersheds. The projects are undergoing relicensing with the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and NID, PG&E, American Whitewater and other
stakeholders are involved in FERC's new Integrated Licensing Process (refer to the Public
Relicensing website at http://www.nid-relicensing.com for more information).
We have jointly agreed to survey whitewater boaters that paddle any portion of the river reaches
near the project (see list of reaches below). Information from the survey will help us identify a
flow preference curve for whitewater boating, which will identify minimum acceptable and optimum
flows. This flow preference curve will be used to evaluate possible effects on whitewater boating
from Project operation and help define flow needs.
Click here to fill out a
survey
LIST OF WHITEWATER BOATING STUDY REACHES
MIDDLE YUBA
BEAR RIVER
• Jackson Meadows Reservoir to Milton Reservoir
• HWY 20/Bear Valley to Drum Afterbay
• Milton Reservoir to Plumbago/Wolf Creek
• Drum Afterbay to Dutch Flat
Afterbay
• Plumbago/Wolf Creek to Our House Dam
• Dutch Flat to Chicago Park PH
• Chicago Park PH to Rollins Reservoir
• Highway 174
to Ben Taylor Rd.
• Ben Taylor Rd. to Lake Combie
SOUTH YUBA
• Summit Run (Kingvale to Indian Springs CG
• Spaulding Run (Indian Springs CG to Lake Spaulding)
• Lake Spaulding to Langs Crossing
• Langs Crossing to Fall Creek Confluence
• Downstream of Fall Creek to Washington
• Washington to Edwards
• Edwards to Purdon Crossing
• Purdon Crossing to Highway 49
• Highway 49 to Bridgeport
FORDYCE CREEK
• Fordyce Lake to Eagle Lake Crossing
• Eagle Lake Bridge to Lake Spaulding
NF of the NF AMERICAN RIVER
• Six Mile Creek Confluence to North Fork CG
• North Fork CG to NF American River confluence
CANYON CREEK
• Upper Run (French Lake to Bowman Lake)
• Bowman/Spaulding Conduit Div Dam to Artic Mine
• Artic Mine to South Yuba River Confluence
Instructions for Completing the Online Survey
If you paddled any of these river reaches, please complete this questionnaire each time you boat
each reach. Information from repeat paddlers at various flow levels provides valuable comparative
information that helps us better understand the boatable flow range.
We are interested in your use of any portion of the river reaches listed above. Most of
these reaches have real-time flow information available through the Dreamflows
website.
Please reference these flow reports to determine what flow you boated before you complete this
survey, if possible. At the very least, be sure to accurately record the date of your trip
so that flows may be determined using the flow history for the reach paddled. Please pass
along the word about this study to fellow boaters. The more responses we get the more useful our
results will be.
For further information about the study contact
Dave Steindorf
California Stewardship Director
American Whitewater
Office 530.343.1871
Cell 530.518.2729
dave@americanwhitewater.org
Kelly Bricker, Devine Tarbell & Associates
Email: kelly.bricker@devinetarbell.com
Cell: (916)-206-3189
Dave Steindorf
4 Baroni Drive
Chico, CA 95928