Yuba
Watershed
~ Nevada City
Drinking Water Tour
Beginning our tour among the Yuba headwaters, where precious snowmelts are preserved for drinking water, we’ll check out recent repairs on crucial infrastructure within the heart of this complex canal system.
Once we pour down the mountain towards Nevada City, we’ll re-meet our water at Scotts Flat reservoir and the Elizabeth George Water Treatment Plant, before curving towards two further forks of the Yuba, each with unique ecologies and senses of place.
Finally, touring the lowland impacts still lingering from the era when this river smashed mountains in pursuit of gold, we’ll tuck into the foothills and camp overnight at Lake Englebright amidst a sweet cove only accessible by party barge.
Car-caravan with carpools encouraged. Dinner and breakfast provided ~ please bring everything else you’ll need for a day tour and/or an overnight camping trip on a lake.
Partial tour options, scholarships, and customizable food options available.
Itinerary, route, and tour details provided after registration.
Feel free to reach out any time with questions or clarifications ~ joshua@watershedwitness.com
Sat, July 11, 2026:
join for any part
Morning ~ Headwaters:
Fragile Infrastructure
(10a-1p) ($28)
Connecting repairs at
Spaulding Powerhouse with
drinking water cradled
below Scotts Flat
afternoon ~ Three Forks:
Recovering Ecologies
(2p-5p) ($28)
Embedded Cultures
of Caretaking
emerging throughout
the Central River
Camp Overnight at
Englebright Lake ($36)
Camp Dinner
& Breakfast provided
The Yuba ~ is there a more
magical river in these mountains?
This Watershed Witness Tour
offers worthwhile explorations
for both Yuba region locals
and Bay Area-based folks.
Our car-caravan will check out
ongoing repairs of vital water arteries,
as well as classic Yuba magical ecologies
and historically significant locations.
Choose between a section of tour,
or join us for the whole adventure!
Lake Spaulding to Scotts Flat
in the morning,
Bullards Bar Dam to Yuba GoldFields
in the afternoon, with a
humble party barge awaiting
on Englebright Lake
to escort us to a peaceful cove
for overnight camping.
We’ll celebrate rematriation,
imagining the rebounding
profound depths and breadths
of magic the Nisenan tended ~
Before the Yuba
became the first river
strangled through a cannon,
smashing its own mountain,
thirsty for gold ~
We’ll investigate recent challenges:
Fall 2025 marked the
re-supply of drinking water
into Scotts Flat Reservoir,
replenishing water shortages
caused by catastrophic failures
of headwater powerhouses and canals
at Lake Spaulding in 2024
Summer 2026 continues
reconstruction after the rupture
and rescues at Colgate Penstock,
mudslides and debris
pouring downstream
into Englebright Lake.
Fortunately, cleanup
moved quickly,
but rebuilding takes time.
We’ll learn how increasing
impositions on the Yuba
for the sake of drinking water,
agricultural needs, energy generation,
and flood control ~ create one of
the most complex water systems
in the country ~ while hopefully
protecting this area from the worst
challenges of climate chaos.
