Slab Creek Dam on Upper South Fork American Spilling: Document Your Runs
Posted: 02/25/2002
By: John Gangemi
Last night Slab Creek Dam started to spill. This morning there is approximately 900 cfs below the
dam in the river. This stretch of river rarely sees boatable flows because SMUD can divert up to
4000 cfs around it. It is accessed by the road to Slab Creek Dam. Take out for the full run is the
road to White Rock Power House, at the very head of Chili Bar Reservoir. About half way down
Mosquito Road crosses the river on a one lane Suspension bridge. The run is Class IV-Class V, with
one probable portage about a mile below Mosquito Road Bridge. It is a run somewhere in the Giant
Gap/Cherry Creek range in difficulty.
The access roads (except Mosquito) are probably gated, necessitating a walk to put-in and from take-out. An alternative take out is Rock Creek, about half way between Mosquito Road and Chili Bar Reservoir, on river right, accessed by a possibly gated road from Rock Creek Road.
This stretch of river is one which few folks have run, and if you happen to get on it, I would really like you to document the run as well as you can. Photos, video, log of put-in and take-out times, flow observations, etc. Please e-mail me with any information and a way to contact you . SMUD which controls the flows in the stretch, is starting a relicense process which could affect the flow management, so we need all the information we can get.
The dam is spilling because SMUD has had to shut down the diversion into White Rock PH for maintenance. The spill should continue for the next five or six days. The flows may be too low to raft, but kayaks should be ok down to 500 or 600 cfs. You can get a good look at one rapid from Mosquito Bridge which is typical of the upper half. After Mosquito Bridge the run gets chunkier and scouts are mandatory until after the probable portage about a mile or so below the suspension bridge.
To determine the flow go to http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryF?slb&d=now&span=24hours and use the following conversion table for the reservoir elevation:
1850.6 = 535 cfs
1850.7 = 650 cfs
1850.8 = 767 cfs
1850.9 = 892 cfs
1851.0 = 1025 cfs
Given Slab Creek's spilling, and Chili Bar spilling anything over 600 cfs, we are actually going to see a natural flow regime on the South Fork for the next 5 or 6 days. No storms are predicted so I anticipate a slow and steady drop in flows.
Posted by mike fentress and hilde Schweitzer
The access roads (except Mosquito) are probably gated, necessitating a walk to put-in and from take-out. An alternative take out is Rock Creek, about half way between Mosquito Road and Chili Bar Reservoir, on river right, accessed by a possibly gated road from Rock Creek Road.
This stretch of river is one which few folks have run, and if you happen to get on it, I would really like you to document the run as well as you can. Photos, video, log of put-in and take-out times, flow observations, etc. Please e-mail me with any information and a way to contact you . SMUD which controls the flows in the stretch, is starting a relicense process which could affect the flow management, so we need all the information we can get.
The dam is spilling because SMUD has had to shut down the diversion into White Rock PH for maintenance. The spill should continue for the next five or six days. The flows may be too low to raft, but kayaks should be ok down to 500 or 600 cfs. You can get a good look at one rapid from Mosquito Bridge which is typical of the upper half. After Mosquito Bridge the run gets chunkier and scouts are mandatory until after the probable portage about a mile or so below the suspension bridge.
To determine the flow go to http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/queryF?slb&d=now&span=24hours and use the following conversion table for the reservoir elevation:
1850.6 = 535 cfs
1850.7 = 650 cfs
1850.8 = 767 cfs
1850.9 = 892 cfs
1851.0 = 1025 cfs
Given Slab Creek's spilling, and Chili Bar spilling anything over 600 cfs, we are actually going to see a natural flow regime on the South Fork for the next 5 or 6 days. No storms are predicted so I anticipate a slow and steady drop in flows.
Posted by mike fentress and hilde Schweitzer