Dry Creek @ Highway 20

Dry Creek at Highway 20 (DC20) is a potential streamgaging location in the Dry Creek watershed. This bridge crosses Dry Creek just north of its confluence with the Yuba River and is likely to show confounding measurements due to backwater from the Yuba during high flows caused by Atmospheric Rivers. CW3E first began conducting discharge measurements in December 2021 to get an idea of typical flows at the site.  There is concern of backflow from the Lower Yuba River during high-flow events, which will require an approach that considers potential backflow issues.  CW3E Hydrologist Garrett McGurk has worked with several flow-monitoring equipment providers to determine the feasibility of monitoring at this site with the potential backflow concerns. The consensus from equipment providers is that it may only be possible to monitor large flows at this site.  As of November 2023, Yuba Water Agency (YWA) is interested in seeing if it is possible to monitor those large flows and use the upstream gages at UDC and LDM to monitor low flows.  During storm events, CW3E and YWA often take discharge measurements at the site to contribute towards an eventual rating curve at the station.

As of November 2023, CW3E hold an encroachment permit to conduct monitoring activities at the site and install a pressure transducer on the concrete structure downstream of the bridge.