The Pit 1 reach (Class IV) of Northern California’s Pit River is expected to flow at boatable levels for much of October 2026 while both generating units at PG&E’s Pit 1 Powerhouse are offline for maintenance. During this period, flows will not be diverted into the hydropower project and the river will instead flow at boatable levels, fed by the largest springs in California.
Continuous boatable flows are expected from October 5 through October 19, 2026. The annual scheduled boating flows will occur within this window on October 9–11 and October 16–18, with all-day boatable flows as required by the hydropower license. Outside of these scheduled flow dates, the reach should run at similar boatable levels throughout the October 5–19 period, though maintenance activities could cause some variability.
Flows will upramp on October 5 and are expected to reach boatable levels by mid-afternoon. Flows will drop on October 19 at an undetermined time as maintenance concludes and powerhouse operations resume.
The annual scheduled boating flows result from American Whitewater’s advocacy during the federal relicensing of PG&E’s Pit 1 Hydroelectric Project in the early 2000s. Prior to this, there were no guaranteed boatable days on the Pit 1 reach which, absent PG&E’s project, would have boatable flows year-round. Learn more by watching Current Release: Pit 1 and check out the full run in our Pit 1 Rapids video.
