Fall releases on NF Feather, Poe reach (CA)

Surprise fall boatable flows are now expected on the NF Feather river in California.   The releases will be into the Poe Dam to Poe Powerhouse section, starting November 11, 2009 and lasting one or two months.   The next run downstream, Big Bend will also continue to receive boatable flows. 

At the same time, PG&E is now supplying flow information for this reach and AW is posting that information online.  See:

http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Gauge2/detail/id/49034/

This is the latest in a growing number of online flow gauges that AW is hosting. 

PG&E expects to begin work on the Poe Dam drum gates starting November 11, and they must lower the reservoir to do so.   When the reservoir is lowered flows can no longer go through the pipeline to the Poe powerhouse.   Water must be released through low level gates into the natural river channel.   PG&E will not predict the exact amount or timing of the flows, so they may vary from a few hundred cfs to a couple thousand.   With the new online gauge boaters will be able to see the actual flow patterns.