Cape Horn Dam in Potter Valley, Calif., in an undated photo. (Kyle Schwartz/Cal Trout via Bay City News)

MENDOCINO CO., 10/14/26 — PG&E plans to start repairing a void at the base of Cape Horn Dam by Nov. 20, according to a letter the utility filed with federal dam-safety regulators Oct. 6.

Cape Horn Dam holds back Van Arsdale Reservoir on the Eel River in Mendocino County. An intake 400 feet upstream of the dam sends Eel River water into the Potter Valley Project’s tunnels. The water runs to the Potter Valley powerhouse, which empties into the East Fork of the Russian River. PG&E is obligated to deliver up to 19,000 acre-feet of that water to the Potter Valley Irrigation District, according to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The dam is also home to the Van Arsdale Fisheries Station, where salmon and steelhead climb a fish ladder past the dam.

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