{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"KZYX News","title":"Uncertainty remains over future of Potter Valley Project","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":388,"description":"February 16, 2022 — Experts on the Potter Valley Project gave Farm Bureau committee members an update Tuesday night, providing details about flows, preparations for a ballot measure to levy a special tax, and the as-yet scarce information that’s available about what’s next.\r\nDevon Jones, the Executive Director of the Mendocino County Farm Bureau, laid the groundwork with some background and up-to-the moment specifics about how much water is coming through the East Fork of the Russian River into Lake Mendocino. Operations at the powerhouse have been significantly reduced due to a transformer failure, which means that since July, water can only come through the project using a bypass channel. That has been around 45 cubic feet per second (cfs), with five cfs contractually obligated for Potter Valley, a 35 cfs requirement for the East Branch leading into Lake Mendocino, and a five cs buffer. Jones reported that when she checked the Calpella stream gauge right before the meeting, she observed that 60 cfs is flowing into Lake Mendocino, probably due to some natural accretion from area creeks. “But this is a substantial reduction from what we would normally see during winter months being diverted for power production coming into the East Fork of the Russian River,” she reminded Farm Bureau members.\r\nPG&E still owns and operates the hydropower plant and system of dams and reservoirs that divert water from the Eel into the Russian River. But the license expires in mid-April, and PG&E wants to get out from under the unprofitable endeavor. A regional group that was trying to raise money to study the feasibility of taking over the license announced last month that it will also not be filing an application. (The coalition consists of the Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission, which is a five-member joint powers authority consisting of local government and water districts; the Round Valley Indian Tribes, the County of Humboldt, Sonoma County Water Agency, and the...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/xZpAumwbhFUpJUYcwaQ1-q6snzOyqAm13l7cW6AWPCM/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS9mMzkz/NjAwNjc2OWMyZmFk/YWY2YTdmYjI5M2Mz/YWMxNy5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}