To:  Subscribers, Emergency Management Officials, News Media, and Public Users
Subject: New River Forecast Point – Feather River @ Yuba City Water Treatment Plant

The National Weather Service Sacramento will be creating a new river forecast point for the Feather River, serving the communities of Yuba City in Sutter County and Marysville in Yuba County.

In January 2024, the State of California’s Department of Water Resources (DWR) removed the previously-established river gage, the Feather River at Yuba City (site ID YUBC1). This gage was located along the old railroad bridge, and was demobilized due repeated vandalism and safety concerns.

Subsequently in February 2024, the gage was relocated approximately 2 miles upstream to its new location, the Feather River at Yuba City Water Treatment Plant (site ID YWPC1). While river observations were quickly restored for the Feather River, the official river forecasts were still issued for the former location with no river gage.

Effective November 14, 2024 the National Weather Service plans to incorporate this new river forecast point – Feather River at Yuba City Water Treatment Plant (YUBC1) – into our flood messaging and products. The forecasts for the old site – Feather River at Yuba City (YUBC1) – will then be discontinued. The new forecast will be available on both the National Water Prediction Service and California-Nevada River Forecast Center (CNRFC) websites.

This new river forecast point will have the following thresholds for flood, elevation in feet NAVD88:

• 66.0 - Action/Monitor Stage
• 80.5 - Minor Flood Stage; *Flood Warning issuance level
• 81.7 - Moderate Flood Stage
• 84.7 - Major Flood Stage

The National Weather Service Sacramento, CNRFC, California DWR, as well as Yuba and Sutter County officials have supported the creation of this forecast point. The data for this site is provided by the California DWR, a partner of the NWS. Without this critical data, our forecasts and warnings would not be possible.

The NWS welcomes public feedback regarding these service changes. If you have feedback or questions regarding these changes please email the contact listed below. 

Scott Rowe | scott.rowe@noaa.gov
Senior Service Hydrologist
National Weather Service - Sacramento, CA

Webpage Resources:

• California Department of Water Resources Station Info: https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/staMeta?station_id=YWP
• California-Nevada River Forecast Center: https://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/ 
• National Water Prediction Service: https://water.noaa.gov/wfo/STO
• National Weather Service Sacramento: https://weather.gov/sacramento

Published 10/15/2024