Storm Events Cancel Rec Releases SF American River below Slab Creek (CA)

Photo by Jeff Venturino

Scheduled releases for the South Fork American River below Slab Creek for this weekend March 18th and 19th have been cancelled and will be rescheduled to April 15th and 16th. Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) has informed American Whitewater that storm event modeling indicate impacts to their ability to physically control releases below Slab Creek Dam. Also, in anticipation of uncontrolled spill over the dam, SMUD elected to remove log booms from Slab Creek reservoir to protect them from high-water damage. Since the booms will not be in place and SMUD does not feel confident that they can control inflows, they have elected to reschedule. (See California Data Exchange Center Slab Creek information here)

Presently, there are no modifications to the other scheduled releases on March 25th & 26th, or April 1st & 2nd. As per the Slab Creek release announcement, SMUD will target the lower flow ranges of 1400 cfs & 850 cfs on Saturdays and the higher flow ranges of 1500 cfs & 950 cfs on Sundays. American Whitewater will remain in close contact with SMUD regarding any other changes or weather-driven impacts to the South Fork American below Slab Creek release schedule and continue to update paddlers as new information becomes available.

For those who will be taking advantage of the opportunistic flows, please be aware that SMUD has closed the gate to vehicle access at the junction of Slab Creek Reservoir Road and North Canyon Road per an Eldorado National Forest Closure Order. However, American Whitewater is working with U.S. Forest Service to clarify this order as it appears this order does not include this specific gate. Nor does it include the road down to the put-in for this reach. Stay tuned as American Whitewater works to open this gate for future opportunistic boating events.

By Theresa Lorejo-Simsiman

Post originally appeared at www.AmericanWhitewater.org