By Bob Walsh
An aerial survey of Yuba Water Agency’s New Colgate Powerhouse, penstock and surrounding areas in Dobbins, California captured on Feb. 14, 2026, following the rupture of the agency’s penstock pipeline, which moves water from New Bullards Bar Dam and Reservoir to New Colgate Powerhouse on the North Yuba River
The penstock failure above the
Colgate Power House on the Yuba River has much nastier results than one
might think. The water not only took routine items into the river with
it, like mud, rocks and trees, but it carried along a fair amount of
nasty crap from the electrical equipment it wiped out at the power
plant.
There is a boom across the river downstream and a barge
with a large back hoe mounted on it. They are retrieving large chunks
of this and that from the river and testing the water frequently to see
what nasty stuff is in there that should not be. There was a major fish
kill-off which appears to have been caused by the problem.
This
could turn out to have a huge ecological cost. They still have not
officially determined what caused the gross structural failure of the
upper end of the penstock. Since it was actively being upgraded at the
time the failure occurred one would think the two items were related. I
hope the contractor had good insurance. This could become very, very
costly for somebody. Hopefully not the taxpayers of Yuba County.
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