Residents pack Ukiah workshop on Potter Valley Project decommissioning

UKIAH, CA., 11/26/25 – On Monday, the Mendocino County Inland Water and Power Commission held a three-hour workshop at the Ukiah Valley Conference Center to discuss the decommissioning of the Potter Valley Project and answer questions from community members about how it will impact the local economy, residents, and natural resources. 

For more than 100 years, the Potter Valley Project has diverted water from the Eel River to the Russian River watershed through two dams — the Scott Dam at Lake Pillsbury and Cape Horn Dam at Lake Van Arsdale. The two lakes have supplied water to communities throughout Mendocino and Sonoma counties.