Lake Pillsbury (Kent Porter 12/2013)
Federal approval of a drought-related request to reduce flows from Lake Pillsbury could come Friday or early next week, relieving concerns shared by PG&E, North Bay water managers and ranchers in Potter Valley.
If the remote reservoir on the Eel River in Lake County falls too low this summer, it could trigger a dramatic cutback in water to Potter Valley, with repercussions down the Russian River from Ukiah to Healdsburg and potentially into the rest of Sonoma County and Marin County.
PG&E, which operates a small powerhouse in Potter Valley, filed an urgent request Wednesday with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission seeking permission to curtail releases from Lake Pillsbury, which already has dropped to 52 percent of capacity. …
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Read the variance request from PG&E to FERC and the order granting temporary variance from FERC to PG&E Critical Request for Flow Variance, May 13 2015 Order Granting Temporary Variance of Minimum Flow Requirements, May 18 2015 |
| Published by: The Press Democrat
Written by: Guy Kovner Published: May 14, 2015 |