Yuba Water celebrates New Facilities on Marysville Road by Yuba Water Agency Aug 5, 2025 Member Submitted News MARYSVILLE – The Yuba Water Agency Board of Directors marked the first public meeting at the agency’s new Power Systems facilities today and held a ceremonial ribbon cutting. Located at 8897 Marysville Road in Oregon House, 10 acres of the 20-acre property have been developed and include a recently completed 14,000-square-foot administration building, communications tower, laydown yard and parking. The site’s warehouse and mechanics shop are still under construction, expected to be complete by the end of the year. Designed to work with the natural landscape and for the community, the facility is built with non-flammable materials and solar panels that feed excess power back onto the grid, a 150,000-gallon water tank for fire crews and a new, safer school bus stop for students with a turnout, crosswalk and lighting. “There was a lot of thought and intention put into the new buildings,” said Jon Messick, chairman of Yuba Water’s board and Yuba County supervisor for District 5, which includes the foothills. “The fire-resilient construction, new water tank for fire protection and school bus stop really show the agency’s commitment to public safety and to being a good neighbor.” The new facilities replace Yuba Water’s previous building near New Colgate Powerhouse at the base of Lake Francis Road, about 15 minutes downhill. The old structure, a repurposed 1950s powerhouse building, no longer met the needs of the agency’s growing staff and operations. While some staff will continue working at the powerhouse, those previously based at the old administration building have now relocated to the new facility. “The new site is a much-needed upgrade to accommodate our growth,” said Willie Whittlesey, Yuba Water’s general manager. “But its strategically centralized location between our dam and powerhouses is really improving efficiency for our staff, not to mention their quality of life with a much shorter commute, and it offers a significant step up in our ability to collaborate across the agency.” The new Power Systems site primarily supports the agency’s hydropower mission, which generates more than 400 megawatts of clean electricity and helps fund projects that advance Yuba Water’s other mission areas, including flood risk reduction, water supply reliability, fish habitat enhancement and more. Hilbers Incorporated of Yuba City built the facilities at a cost of $42 million. Board approves completing property purchase in Marysville As the new foothill facility nears completion, Yuba Water is now exploring options to consolidate its four different Marysville offices. Today the agency authorized completing the purchase of two properties at 1227 and 1229 D Street for $680,000. The parcels are directly adjacent to an existing Yuba Water office location, with the goal of potentially developing the combined properties into a future agency headquarters, bringing its Marysville-based staff under one roof for improved efficiency, collaboration and cost savings. The agency will now begin planning and design for the new site, exploring permitting and zoning needs. No construction will take place for at least one year. “The properties are right next to an existing agency facility, which basically gives us a block to work with,” said Renick House, Yuba Water board director and Yuba County’s supervisor of District 2, which includes Marysville. “It’s just one street over from an industrial area. I think it has the potential to revitalize the area around Ellis Lake, and it makes good use of the limited resources we have in Marysville.” Learn more about Yuba Water Agency and its work to power a brighter future for Yuba County at yubawater.org.
