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Lake Pillsbury on the chopping block


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I just found out yesterday that PG&E is planning on getting rid of Scott’s Dam which would also get rid of Lake Pillsbury. Besides excellent camping and lake recreation, the lake/ dam also provides:

  • Transfers 62,500 acre-feet of water each year from the Eel River to the Russian River – less than 2% of the total Eel River Watershed. 

  • Provides water to help sustain the lives and livelihoods of more than a half-million people downstream in Mendocino, Sonoma and North Marin Counties. 

  • Supports groundwater and aquifer replenishment 

  • Creates wildlife ecosystems and habitats.

  • Produces enough clean energy to power about 2000 homes.

you can learn more about it here :

https://www.savelakepillsbury.org/

I donated and signed a petition. Not sure if it’s beyond saving or not, but I think it would be tragedy to see this lake go away. They already are keeping the flood gates open for the foreseeable future and keeping the water at drought levels. This is something happening to many dams in CA for varied reasons. Water and power management certainly is a complicated matter, but I don’t think the state utility leaders have earned the right not to be questioned.

 

Some pics from a trip Andrew and I took there a few years ago. May never see the water like this again.

 

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3 hours ago, Elherbinator said:

I just found out yesterday that PG&E is planning on getting rid of Scott’s Dam which would also get rid of Lake Pillsbury. Besides excellent camping and lake recreation, the lake/ dam also provides:

  • Transfers 62,500 acre-feet of water each year from the Eel River to the Russian River – less than 2% of the total Eel River Watershed. 

  • Provides water to help sustain the lives and livelihoods of more than a half-million people downstream in Mendocino, Sonoma and North Marin Counties. 

  • Supports groundwater and aquifer replenishment 

  • Creates wildlife ecosystems and habitats.

  • Produces enough clean energy to power about 2000 homes.

you can learn more about it here :

https://www.savelakepillsbury.org/

I donated and signed a petition. Not sure if it’s beyond saving or not, but I think it would be tragedy to see this lake go away. They already are keeping the flood gates open for the foreseeable future and keeping the water at drought levels. This is something happening to many dams in CA for varied reasons. Water and power management certainly is a complicated matter, but I don’t think the state utility leaders have earned the right not to be questioned.

 

Some pics from a trip Andrew and I took there a few years ago. May never see the water like this again.

 

Well that is hugely unfortunate. Pillsbury is a fantastic lake with a good number of memories.

I think our very first trip with the club was at Pillsbury.

 

Petition signed.

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Flame away but it was an artificial lake to begin with. The infrastructure is ancient and PG&E is probably doing the math and realizing there’s no ROI. After all, they need to save their pennies to keep Diablo Canyon operating. 🫣

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55 minutes ago, CRYA said:

Flame away but it was an artificial lake to begin with. The infrastructure is ancient and PG&E is probably doing the math and realizing there’s no ROI. After all, they need to save their pennies to keep Diablo Canyon operating. 🫣

Nearly all lakes in CA are artificial besides a rare few. All are old. We haven’t built a new dam since 1980. This is left wing radical environmentalism. Over 100 dams have been removed in Ca in the last 30 years yet we have nearly constant drought and power issues. PG&E has endless monies. If they run out due to lawsuits, they just charge more or file for bankruptcy like they did a few years ago. PG&E doesn’t follow a normal business model. You can flame away, but this lake has been around for 100 years. An entire ecosystem and economy has evolved around this lake. So if I see you at Shaver or Hell Hole or Loon or any of the other man made lakes we frequent as a club, I hope you do avoid those trips if you don’t care for some of us “flaming away” about how we would like to keep these areas.

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1 hour ago, CRYA said:

Flame away but it was an artificial lake to begin with. The infrastructure is ancient and PG&E is probably doing the math and realizing there’s no ROI. After all, they need to save their pennies to keep Diablo Canyon operating. 🫣

And just for reference, it cost 5-10 million per year to operate Scott Dam. It is estimated to cost up to 500 million to remove it. Don’t think it’s a cost issue

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Eric I was being facetious about the cost and Diablo. Not everything needs to be labeled a radical left wing issue. I would HARDLY characterize PG&E as such.

But I also think that, as you know, CA does a pretty horrible job of maintaining infrastructure. And this is a utility we’re talking about. My point is that we should all recognize nothing lasts forever and that things change. And that’s ok. Everything is ok. 
 

But also, I support the club. And I enjoy the trips. Simply because we may not agree on damn issues shouldn’t mean you are going to personally hope I don’t attend given my ambivalence about something you’re passionate about. We likely have many more things in common. 👍🏼

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19 minutes ago, CRYA said:

Eric I was being facetious about the cost and Diablo. Not everything needs to be labeled a radical left wing issue. I would HARDLY characterize PG&E as such.

But I also think that, as you know, CA does a pretty horrible job of maintaining infrastructure. And this is a utility we’re talking about. My point is that we should all recognize nothing lasts forever and that things change. And that’s ok. Everything is ok. 
 

But also, I support the club. And I enjoy the trips. Simply because we may not agree on damn issues shouldn’t mean you are going to personally hope I don’t attend given my ambivalence about something you’re passionate about. We likely have many more things in common. 👍🏼

I am not claiming EVERYTHING is a left wing political issue, but many are in Ca and this one definitely is. The impending dam removal is not occurring in a vacuum. It is happening alongside many other dams over many decades and is being pushed by left wing environmental groups, more specifically the Friends of the Eel River. Like I said prior, zero dams have been built in my lifetime while well over 100 have been removed. All while we starve for water and power. If you want to comment on my concerns about this closure you should figure out what the hell you’re talking about first. If you enjoy these “articlficial” lakes you should also understand the precarious situation they are all in. IMO anyone supporting these closures by blindly giving the benefit of the doubt to public institutions closing them is not someone I have much in common with even if we drive the same brand of vehicle. The closing of public lands is an issue any off road enthusiast should care about. That includes our bodies of water too. If you don’t have a problem with the dam removal, then that’s your business. If you feel need to undermine my post regarding the issue, then that’s something else.

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