AUBURN, Calif. (August 20, 2024) — The Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) is urging its customers to continue to conserve water during the coming winter months due to new challenges at a key facility at Spaulding Reservoir owned and operated by Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E).

A significant portion of PCWA’s water is supplied under contract from Spaulding Reservoir and PG&E’s hydroelectric plants. This water is delivered through a system of canals and waterways, including storage at Rollins Reservoir, which supplies both PCWA and the Nevada Irrigation District (NID).

PG&E experienced multiple infrastructure outages in Spaulding that disrupted water supplies beginning in March. While a partial restoration of outflows from Lake Spaulding into Drum Canal resumed in late July, repairs to PG&E’s South Yuba Pipe – critical to resuming water deliveries to NID’s Scotts Flat Reservoir – were expected to be completed by mid-September. However, PCWA and NID were recently notified of new damage to the Spaulding generator that supplies water to the South Yuba Pipe. Due to this new damage and the need to complete the second phase of repairs to fully restore outflows to Drum Canal, PG&E recently announced that full, systemwide water deliveries from Spaulding will not be restored until summer 2025 at the earliest.

PCWA was able to avoid water shortages this summer by using other water sources, and our customers’ efforts to conserve water were also extremely helpful.

Chances are good that Rollins Reservoir will refill through natural runoff this winter—but that’s not guaranteed. That means PCWA is asking customers to continue to be mindful of their water usage until further notice.

“We are very grateful to our customers for helping us through this difficult summer,” said PCWA Executive Director Andy Fecko. “Although we did not cause the problems, our own customers made a difference through their prudent use of water. We are working closely with NID to balance supply and demand of our water resources. We expect PG&E to fully resume water deliveries as soon as possible.”

Customers have helped by reducing landscape watering, fixing leaks, and taking advantage of PCWA equipment rebates. Sewer water customers have made a huge difference by having to live with limited supplies, and we recognize that this has been challenging for some. Unfortunately, all of these conservation efforts will need to continue into next year.

In addition, the PCWA cannot approve new requests for water deliveries to the canal until PG&E’s repairs are completed and full flow to Rollins Reservoir is restored.

Customers experiencing difficulties due to changes in sewer deliveries may contact PCWA at (530) 823-4850 or [email protected]. Water conservation tips and rebate offers are available to customers on our website at pcwa.net under the Customer Service tab.