Pacific Gas and Electric Company has begun work on a project to remove sediment from an underwater intake channel at Prattville on Lake Almanor. The intake channel was designed to convey water to a tunnel system for hydropower generation.
PG&E’s contractor will be using excavators on barges to remove accumulated sediment in the V-shaped channel. Only sediment will be removed from the channel and it will not be excavated wider or deeper than the original design.
The Prattville Intake is located next to Marvin Alexander Beach, a PG&E day use area, which will remain open and available to the public.
The project is expected to be completed by early November. The excavated soil will be relocated to PG&E’s Canyon Dam maintenance yard.
The water intake channel is about 400 feet long. Since it began operations in the 1950s, the channel has gradually filled with sediment and its clearing will improve water flows for the intake system, which conveys water to PG&E’s Butt Valley Powerhouse and Reservoir.
PG&E has consulted with appropriate local, state and federal government agencies about the project, as well as Native American tribes in the region.
