On Feb. 13, 2026, just before 3 p.m., Yuba Water experienced a catastrophic rupture of its penstock pipe above New Colgate Powerhouse along the North Yuba River in Dobbins. The rupture caused an unplanned release of water down the hillside and into the powerhouse area, resulting in significant erosion near the penstock and damage to portions of Lake Francis Road. Pacific Gas & Electric transmission lines and powerlines were also damaged. Significant amounts of sediment and debris were swept into the Yuba River above Englebright Dam.

The penstock pipe and New Colgate Powerhouse are located in the foothills of Yuba County in the community of Dobbins along Lake Francis Road on the North Yuba River. It’s approximately 45 minutes east of the city of Marysville.

A penstock is a large pipe that carries water from a reservoir to a powerhouse to generate hydropower. Yuba Water’s penstock is about 14 feet in diameter and one mile long. Under normal operations, water travels from New Bullards Bar Reservoir through a five-mile rock tunnel, enters the penstock and drops down into New Colgate Powerhouse. Together, the tunnel and penstock move water to New Colgate Powerhouse to support flood risk reduction, water supply reliability and hydroelectric power generation as part of the Yuba River Development Project.

Yes. New Bullards Bar Dam was not damaged and remains safe, stable and fully operational. There is also plenty of capacity to capture storms and runoff to reduce flood risk for Yuba County, which is exactly what it was built to do. There is no risk of downstream flooding related to this incident.

All staff and contractors who were on site during the incident are accounted for. One person was hospitalized and is now in stable condition. The incident also contributed to a brief loss of power for people in the area when some of PG&E’s transmission lines located at New Colgate Powerhouse were impacted by the flows following the rupture.

An estimated 400-acre feet of water was in the five-mile-long rock tunnel and one-mile-long penstock when it ruptured, which resulted in about a 0.6-foot rise in Englebright Lake downstream. For comparison, New Bullards Bar Dam holds nearly 1-million-acre feet of water.

No. The water released during the rupture was limited to the amount of water held in the rock tunnel and penstock. There were no uncontrolled releases from New Bullards Bar Dam before, during or after the rupture.

The rupture caused significant damage to New Colgate Powerhouse and two switchyards shared with Pacific Gas & Electric. A full damage assessment is ongoing, but the damage appears extensive. As a result, hydropower generation at the Colgate facilities is suspended until repairs can be completed.

Yuba Water is focused on site safety, environmental protection and damage assessment. Crews are removing debris from the river, installing containment measures such as debris and oil booms, conducting water quality monitoring and testing, and working with environmental and regulatory agencies. Geotechnical experts are assessing hillside stability and identifying long-term stabilization measures.

It's too soon to know. The exact cause is under investigation. Yuba Water will share confirmed information as it becomes available.

Yuba Water is proactive about maintenance across its facilities. The agency strives to stay ahead of major equipment failures, forced outages and prides itself on keeping all equipment and infrastructure in excellent condition.

The damage to the penstock, powerhouse and surrounding facilities is extensive. While assessments are still underway, we expect it to take several weeks, if not months, to thoroughly assess the damage and develop a recovery plan. Full repairs could take a year or more. Our immediate focus is on site safety, environmental protection and stabilization. As we learn more about the scope of repairs and develop a timeline, we will share updates with the public.

Right now, all costs of this incident are covered by Yuba Water Agency through our financial reserves. We have yet to sort out how the final costs of immediate response and long-term recovery will be allocated—it’s simply too soon to know. We can say for certain, however, that we do not receive local tax revenues or have any residential ratepayers whose rates would be affected.

Will the agency continue providing community impact grants and loans? Yuba Water’s financial position has certainly changed as a result of this penstock rupture. Currently we are focusing our resources on response and recovery. It’s likely that our Community Impact Grant and Loan Program and other non-mission essential efforts will be impacted, though we will do everything we can to continue supporting critical requests for flood risk reduction, water supply reliability and Yuba River habitat restoration projects. We will have a better understanding of our financial position in the coming weeks.

Public access to lower Lake Francis Road is closed at this time. Portions of the road were washed out during the incident, and there are ongoing concerns about erosion and soil stability along the entire hillside. The area around the penstock and New Colgate Powerhouse remains unsafe and is not open to the public. Additionally, it is currently unsafe to access the Yuba River between the New Colgate Powerhouse and Englebright Lake.

We apologize for any hardship or inconvenience this incident may have caused you. For assistance, please reach out to our risk manager, Joe Davis – jdavis@yubawater.org.

Yuba Water will continue to make regular updates to this page, including frequently asked questions. Regular updates will also be shared as news items on yubawater.org and on Yuba Water’s official social media channels. We understand this incident has been concerning for our neighbors and the broader community and we remain committed to providing timely updates as response and recovery efforts continue.

Yuba Water and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are working together under a Unified Command structure to manage the environmental response to potential impacts to the Yuba River.

We have taken, and will continue to take, water quality samples from multiple locations along the Yuba River and Englebright Lake to monitor the effects of the incident. Initial field observations near the incident site indicate elevated turbidity, which is expected given the mudslides that entered the river above Englebright Dam. Additional water quality parameters require laboratory testing, which is currently in progress. We do not yet know when those results will be available but have requested expedited processing.

Oil and debris containment measures, including oil booms at Englebright Lake, are in place, and additional resources are being deployed to support debris containment and removal. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has also collected samples of the reported oil sheen, and analysis is pending. We are coordinating closely with state and federal agencies to assess and minimize potential impacts to the river and aquatic species. Monitoring and response efforts are ongoing.

Yuba Water crews and environmental contractors have been on site at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Englebright Lake since Saturday morning, February 14, focused on containment and debris removal, as well as environmental assessment and monitoring. Crews successfully installed oil booms and debris booms and are installing additional booms this week. The team has made progress on removing large debris and is working around the clock to remove as much debris as possible – as quickly as possible.

We are aware of those reports and are coordinating with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, South Yuba River Citizens League and others to assess the impact of the incident on conditions in the lower Yuba River, including potential fish mortality. We have notified state and federal agencies of a temporary fluctuation in flows that lasted approximately two hours as a result of a loss of power at Narrows 2 that occurred during the incident, and we are in the process of providing those agencies with a formal report documenting the event. To be clear, none of the debris or materials mobilized by the incident has gotten below Englebright Dam at this point, so any impacts to the lower Yuba River would not have been caused by the debris or other materials in the water.

Yes. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District's Englebright Lake is closed to public access. Both boat launches are closed, and Englebright Dam Road is closed with only authorized vehicles allowed.

We STRONGLY encourage everyone to avoid the Yuba River between New Colgate Powerhouse and Englebright, as well as Englebright Lake, while we have active debris removal efforts underway there for the next several days.

Right now, all costs of this incident are covered by Yuba Water Agency through our financial reserves. We have yet to sort out how the final costs of immediate response and long-term recovery will be allocated - it’s simply too soon to know. We can say for certain, however, that we do not receive local tax revenues or have any residential ratepayers whose rates would be affected.