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Potter Valley Hydroelectric ProjectFERC Project No. 77
Overview & History
Stakeholder MeetingMarch 9, 2017
Paul KubicekPG&E, Senior Consulting Scientist
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Potter Valley Project
• 9.4-MW hydroelectric project
• Sufficient to power ~6,900 homes
• Inter-basin diversion of water from upper mainstem Eel River to upper Russian River (East Branch)
• Initial construction completed in 1908
• Operated under FERC license #77
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Eel River above Lake Pillsbury - Spring
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Eel River above Lake Pillsbury - Fall
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Lake Pillsbury
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Scott Dam / Lake Pillsbury
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Eel River below Lake Pillsbury
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Cape Horn Dam / Van Arsdale Reservoir
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Eel River below Cape Horn Dam
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Eel River above Outlet Creek
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Van Arsdale Reservoir & Intake
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Penstock
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Penstock
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Potter Valley Powerhouse
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Potter Valley Powerhouse Tailrace
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PVID East Canal & East Branch Russian River
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Lake Mendocino
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Potter Valley Project History
• Cape Horn Dam, diversion, & powerhouse (1905-08) -Eel Power & Irrigation Co. / Snow Mt. Water & Power Co. (1906)
• Scott Dam (1920-21) / 10-ft high increase (1925)
• Water for irrigation (1924)
• PVID irrigation contract (1926)
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Potter Valley Project History
• PG&E acquired project (1930)
• Generating unit upgrades (1930s-50s)
• Tunnel intake reconstructed (1971-72)
• Powerhouse bypass (2009-10)
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Cape Horn Dam
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Cape Horn Dam
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Penstock Under Construction
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Powerhouse Generator in Transit
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Potter Valley Powerhouse ~1910
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Scott Dam Looking Upstream
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Scott Dam
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Scott Dam without Gates
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Cape Horn Dam Fish Ladder
• Concrete pool & weir ladder constructed “shortly after” Cape Horn Dam
• Van Arsdale Fisheries Station (CDFW)– Egg taking station, as early as 1915
– First fish counts began 1922/23
• Major improvements (1987)– Increased attraction flow
– Realigned ladder entrance
– Modified pools in ladder
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Cape Horn Dam Fish Ladder - Original
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Cape Horn Dam Fish Ladder – Current
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Van Arsdale Fisheries Station
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Van Arsdale Fisheries Station
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Van Arsdale Fish Screen
• Horizontal travelling screen (built 1971-72)
• Twin inclined plane screens (built 1994-95)– Compressed air sparger system
– Archimedes screw pump
– Fish bypass
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Van Arsdale Fish Screen - Original
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Van Arsdale Fish Screen - Current
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FERC Relicensing (1922-83)
• FPC 50-year license (1922)
• Protracted relicensing process (1970-83)
– Study Agreement (1979) to evaluate flows
– 3-Year Fisheries Study (1979-82)
– Settlement Agreement (1982)
• New FERC License (1983)
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FERC Relicensing 1983 to Present
• 10-Year Fisheries Study (1985-96)
• ESA listing for Chinook salmon & steelhead (1999, 2000)
• NMFS Biological Opinion – RPA (2002)
• Amended FERC license (2004)
– Balancing of water needs
– Annual monitoring ongoing
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Amended FERC License: Balancing of Water Needs
• Power production
• Eel River fisheries protection
• Russian River– Irrigation (PVID & SCWA)
– Fisheries protection
• Recreation– Lake Pillsbury storage
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Current Project Operations
• 2004 – April 14, 2022– Per requirements of NMFS RPA & Amended FERC
License
• Beyond April 14, 2022– Requirements to be determined through FERC relicensing
process
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Questions?