(GRASS VALLEY, July 29, 2025) Water deliveries have resumed to the Nevada Irrigation District’s (NID) Rollins and Scotts Flat reservoirs following successful infrastructure repairs by the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) at Lake Spaulding.

After more than a year of water supply interruptions caused by significant damage to a few of PG&E’s Lake Spaulding facilities, Spaulding 1 powerhouse repairs have been completed and tested. As a result, water is now flowing from Lake Spaulding through the powerhouse and into the conveyance system that supplies NID’s foothill reservoirs.

Currently, the flow rate is approximately 650 cubic feet per second (cfs). Of this, 570 cfs is being routed into the Drum Canal to replenish Rollins Reservoir, while 80 cfs is being bypassed into the South Yuba Canal to feed Scotts Flat Reservoir.

“This 650 cfs flow is enough to meet the District’s customer demands,” said Greg Jones, NID Assistant General Manager.

Still, customers are advised to moderate expectations regarding a rapid recovery in reservoir levels. Rollins Reservoir, heavily impacted during the outage, remains extremely low with only 57 percent of usable storage. Scotts Flat is in somewhat better shape at 70 percent capacity and is declining at a slower rate.

“Scotts Flat will continue to drop at a much slower pace and Rollins has begun a slow refill,” Jones explained. “Both reservoirs will stay at low levels for the remainder of the year.”

The repair of Spaulding 1 is a milestone, but additional work is still needed. PG&E’s Spaulding 2 powerhouse remains offline and requires further repair and testing. Until it is operational, PG&E will continue to bypass that facility in order to deliver water directly to NID via the District’s South Yuba Canal.

With approximately 2.5 months remaining in the irrigation season, water conservation remains essential.

“The completion of repairs to Spaulding 1 powerhouse is a positive step, but reservoir levels have been heavily drawn down to maintain water service through the summer,” said Jones.

“To help both Scotts Flat and Rollins reservoirs recover, we urge all customers to use water wisely. Every drop truly makes a difference.”