Deep beneath the Yuba County foothills, inside one of California’s most critical pieces of clean energy infrastructure, IBEW 1245 members at Yuba Water Agency are doing work few people ever see, and even fewer fully understand.
At the New Colgate Powerhouse, part of Yuba Water’s hydroelectric system on the Yuba River, crews are in the middle of a rare and highly complex maintenance outage. For the first time in 18 years, water has been drained from the massive Colgate Tunnel and penstock so crews can inspect, repair, reinforce, and modernize critical systems that generate carbon-free electricity for hundreds of thousands of homes across California.
This type of outage doesn’t happen casually. It requires years of planning, strict safety controls, and extraordinary coordination. It is carried out by a highly skilled workforce whose attention to detail, innovation, and teamwork directly protects public safety and the reliability of California’s electric grid.
Innovation on the Ground (and Below It)
The crew’s innovative approach is evident throughout the project, and one of the most striking examples of that ingenuity is on display in the work of Joe “Butch” Butcher, a Hydro Maintenance Worker responsible for cleaning, prepping, and restoring massive original studs and bolts that are preserved for long-term and worst-case-scenario use. Each bolt weighs roughly 85 pounds, each nut is 4.25 inches across, and every threaded surface must be returned to perfect condition before it can be put back into service.
“A dirty bolt is a galling bolt,” Butcher explains—meaning if debris remains, it can seize, fail, or compromise the integrity of the system.
What once took far longer using improvised tools is now done with a custom setup Joe designed himself—specialized equipment that allows him to clean, chase, inspect, and restore threads with speed.
“If the threads are already clean, one stud might take 25 minutes. If they’re damaged or dirty, it can take close to an hour. It’s tedious work, but it matters because everything here has to go back together exactly right,” said Butch.
Precision in Tight, High-Risk Spaces
Inside the powerhouse and throughout the tunnel, crews are repairing turbine shutoff valves, cleaning and reinforcing rock traps designed to stop debris from reaching turbines, installing rock bolts to strengthen tunnel walls, recoating critical sections of pipe, and replacing and upgrading valves to meet long-term safety and FERC compliance standards.
“It’s something new every day. It’s never the same thing,” said Michael Rouch, Mechanical Foreman at the Yuba Water Agency. “You get to take apart massive equipment and see things most people never get to see. I’ve always liked seeing how things work, and when you start learning, the mysteries go away. At the core, the mechanical principles are the same. Here it’s just on a much bigger scale.”
Rouch explained that during a normal outage, one generating unit remains operational while maintenance occurs on the other. This full dewatering provides a rare opportunity to reach areas that are typically inaccessible.
All of this work takes place in tight, underground spaces surrounded by some of the most powerful water infrastructure in the state. When the system is live, water travels through the penstock with immense force on its way to the Pelton Wheel turbines. There are no margins for error.
In fact, during the visit, crews used a precision micrometer to measure one of the massive drum components, confirming exact tolerances before reassembly. It is an essential step in a system where even the smallest deviation can have major consequences.
From the Ground Up
Tim Bowles, a Plant Mechanic at Yuba Water Agency, has worked his way through many roles at the hydro facility and says he’s enjoyed every one of them. But the work he’s doing now is his favorite.
We caught up with Bowles as he was cleaning one of the massive drum components inside the powerhouse. “The first time I saw the plant, I thought, ‘How do I get to be part of that?’ Now I get to take things apart, fabricate, machine pieces, and solve problems—sometimes even making special tooling. What I love most is coming up with solutions and figuring things out on the fly. Getting to work with the big stuff never gets old,” said Bowles.
Protecting Communities, Inside and Beyond the Powerhouse
The work at Colgate keeps electricity flowing into the grid, but so much more. The system plays a critical role in flood control, river management, fish protection, and the region’s water supply. Operators constantly balance power generation with downstream safety, monitoring river flows and adjusting releases to protect communities throughout the Yuba River watershed.
Behind the scenes, the 24/7 control room manages power generation, river flows, flood protection, and water deliveries across multiple plants and dams. Operators monitor conditions around the clock and respond instantly to changing demands.
“What we do affects everything downstream—power, water, flood control, all of it. We’re constantly balancing flows, generation, and safety in real time. There’s a lot of responsibility in that. It’s a behind-the-scenes job, but it affects communities all across the region,” said Chad Brown, Senior Operator at Yuba Water Agency.
Also learning the system from the inside is Andy Schwartz, a newer member of the control room team who has been on the job for just under seven months.
“I get to work on the Yuba River every day and help shape how it moves,” said Andy Schwartz, Operator Trainee at Yuba Water Agency. “That’s something I’ve been obsessed with since I was a kid.”
The Bigger Picture
Hydropower remains one of the most reliable and cost-effective renewable energy sources in the nation. Yuba Water’s facilities alone can generate more than 400 megawatts of carbon-free electricity, which is enough to power hundreds of thousands of homes.
But behind every megawatt is human labor: skilled, precise, dedicated work happening in places most Californians will never visit.
At Colgate, IBEW 1245 members are preserving century-old infrastructure, applying modern innovation to historic systems, protecting public safety, and helping secure California’s renewable energy future.
Quietly. Carefully. And exceptionally well.
Tim Bowles, Plant Mechanic at Yuba Water Agency, has worked in many roles across the plant—but this hands-on mechanical work inside the powerhouse is his favorite.
Michael Rouch, Mechanical Foreman at Yuba Water Agency, inspecting and restoring massive turbine components during a rare full dewatering.
A micrometer is used to confirm exact tolerances on a massive drum component before reassembly—where even the smallest measurement can have major consequences.
Andy Schwartz, Operator Trainee at Yuba Water Agency, learning the control room from the inside—helping monitor and shape the flow of the Yuba River in real time.
Colgate Hydroelectric Powerhouse—where skilled IBEW 1245 members preserve historic infrastructure and power California’s renewable future, delivering reliable, carbon-free energy through precision, innovation, and hard-earned expertise.
Joe “Butch” Butcher, Hydro Maintenance Worker, restoring original studs and bolts.
Chad Brown, Senior Operator at Yuba Water Agency, in the 24/7 control room—balancing power generation, river flows, and flood protection in real time.
The Colgate penstock—channeling water down the hillside to the powerhouse, where gravity and engineering combine to generate clean, reliable hydropower for the region.
IBEW Local 1245 members work at the Colgate Power Plant in Dobbins, California.
Tim Bowles, Plant Mechanic at Yuba Water Agency, cleaning a massive drum component inside the powerhouse—hands-on work that blends fabrication, problem-solving, and ingenuity at a scale that never gets old.
Pat Reilly, plant mechanic torquing fasteners on a massive turbine component inside the Colgate powerhouse.
Elliot Peters and Michael Rouch using a precision micrometer to measure and align components inside the powerhouse.
Inside one of Colgate’s massive steel pipes, IBEW 1245 hydro mechanics pause during maintenance work.