By Mark Mesesan
PG&E’s Spaulding Dam in Nevada County turned 101-years-old this year, but that centennial-plus-one birthday might have been overshadowed here in 2020. No, not because of COVID, but because the dam’s even older sister made a rare appearance.
The original rock and timber Spaulding Dam, completed in 1892, normally under 50 to 150 feet of water, was dry for the first time in probably 20 years, to allow repairs at the nearby “new” Spaulding dam, completed in 1919.
Possibly for the first time since 2000, because that’s when some found photos were dated, a draw-down of Lake Spaulding’s water level brought a lot of unseen things to the surface, including the original rock-and-timber Spaulding Dam completed in 1892.
The draw-down on Spaulding Lake, begun last June, was to allow maintenance repairs on the upstream face of the newer dam — which isn’t new by any stretch — finished in 1919, just 27 years after the one it replaced. And with the water level some 50 feet lower than usual, the older dam, and its center-positioned low-level outlet gate with its historic cornerstone marker, was exposed for a brief bake in the sun.
“When I see the photos, I imagine Mr. Spaulding being on site,” said Chris Brewster, senior manager for PG&E Drum area hydro.
The old Spaulding Dam lay in the foreground, exposed by the draw-down of Lake Spaulding to allow repairs at the new Spaulding Dam built in 1919, seen in the distant background.
The original Spaulding Dam was built by the Van Norden Company and named after John Spaulding, who was in charge of operations and maintenance for the South Yuba Water Company in the 1880’s. He had first surveyed the site and recommended construction of the original dam to his employer.
Photographs also show a row of upright timbers on one side of the dam, which used to be the spillway, and on the opposite end, a spillway gate. There’s also a railway with crooked timbers, possibly used to haul workers and materials to build the newer, 1919-era dam.
PG&E Dam Safety Engineer Michael Dydiw (pronounced DYE-doo) oversaw that work, carried out just 500 feet from the older dam.
The “new” Spaulding Dam, completed in 1919, and still operating, sustaining the Yuba River-fed Lake Spaulding.
He says contractors with Shingle Springs, Calif.-based Alternative Structural Technologies (AST) worked from swing stage scaffolds, with all appropriate safety equipment, including fall protection, to patch concrete on the upstream dam face. A barge on the water also provided a floating platform to allow access to needed materials.
As the water level drew down, increasingly exposing the historic facilities, Dydiw brought out his camera. Seeing the year, “1892,” etched in stone on that low-level gate, brought a rare view of hydro history. Asked whether he tried to turn the metal wheel still sitting on top of the outlet gate, Dydiw said, “No. From my observation, it was pretty well rusted.”
AST workers completed their repair work last month, and water released upstream from Fordyce Dam once again has sent the original Spaulding Dam to its watery grave. It’s where she’ll remain, until her 101-year-old younger sister needs more work again.
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