ISSUE: Hydropower Relicensing
GOAL: Improve river access, restore whitewater opportunities
Current Status: The North Fork Feather River potentially has six separate Class III, IV and V whitewater runs encompassing 50 river miles. Surely a paddling mecca worth placing on any destination paddling vacation (See American Whitewater March/April 1997 issue). Unfortunately these runs rarely contain sufficient water for paddling due to Pacific Gas and Electric’s (PG&E) hydropower projects on the North Fork Feather River totaling 6 dams and 7 powerhouses. Years ago, PG&E engineered a series of reservoirs, pipes, and powerhouses diverting water from virtually every mile of this 50 mile long river canyon. Whitewater is available only during extremely wet storms, when flows exceed the capacity of PG&E’s 12 foot diameter pipes and reservoir storage. As one infamous California boater stated in reference to the North Fork Feather, “PG&E giveth and PG&E taketh away.” American Whitewater is working hard to get PG&E to “giveth an annual schedule of whitewater releases” in the new licenses for these projects.
American Whitewater is actively engaged in settlement negotiations with PG&E for the middle hydroproject, Rock Creek-Cresta. The Rock Creek-Cresta project consists of two dams that dewater a 9 mile Class IV-V run and a 5 mile Class IV reach respectively. The license for the third project, Rock Creek-Cresta, expired in 1979 but has dragged out the typical 5 year relicense process for 19 years. In June 1999, American Whitewater volunteers conducted a controlled flow study to identify optimum whitewater flows for two river reaches dewatered by the Rock Creek-Cresta hydropower project. American Whitewater is close to signing a settlement with PG&E that includes an annual schedule of optimum whitewater flows in both reaches.
The Poe and Upper North Fork Feather hydropower projects have recently started the relicensing process. These two projects contain 4 reservoirs, 4 dewatered river channels, and 4 powerhouses collectively. In May 2000, American Whitewater volunteers participated in a controlled flow study to identify optimum whitewater flows for the 8 mile Poe reach which contains a 4.5 mile Class IV-V section and a 3.5 mile Class III section. A controlled flow study is tentatively scheduled for October 2000 for the three reaches dewatered by the Upper North Fork hydropower project. American Whitewater hopes to develop a watershed based annual whitewater flow schedule in which PG&E will provide one release every weekend day June through October. This release will alternate between reaches with preference given to those reaches that demonstrate the greatest demand from the paddling community.
Precedent: Restoring summer whitewater flows to the six de-watered reaches of the North Fork Feather will elevate this reach of the Feather to one of California’s premier paddling destinations.