A representative of SMUD has indicated that the maintenance on the
Camino powerhouse (which has led to lack of boatable flows on the South
Fork for more than two weeks) is scheduled to be completed on October
28. The representative did not have information on the planned
operation of the Upper American River Project for the remainder of the
fall, but he stated there is some water in the storage system that will
be released by SMUD and eventually make its way past Chili Bar dam.
So what do we know? There will not be boatable flows on the South Fork
the remainder of this week (through October 27). Once SMUD completes
their project, there may be boatable flows on some days this fall below
Chili Bar. We probably will not receive any specific flow forecast.
The past few years, days in Novemberand December with boatable flows saw
ramping begin fairly late in the day at Chili Bar (say 10:00 am to 11:00
am), and the releases tended to be of fairly short duration. I'd
suggest to not look at running the gorge until the rainy season provides
more regular flows. You can obtain daily flow information from the CDEC
website, the River Store (530.626.3435) and the flow phone
(530.621-6616).
Jeff Novak (southfork@co.el-dorado.ca.us)
El Dorado County Parks