FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A national non-profit dedicated to river conservation is calling on PG&E to better regulate releases from a Fresno County dam after state numbers show approximately ten times more water being released into the river below than expected. The group says a sudden release of water from the same dam led to a Clovis teenager's death in 2018. Stay out of this part of the San Joaquin River, PG&E warns PG&E releases water from the Kerckhoff Dam, which increases flows downstream into the San Joaquin River. The utility tells YourCentralValley.com that releases are done to conduct planned maintenance at the powerhouse. The utility reported in September that the water releases would increase from about 25 to 500 cubic feet per second (cfs) until Nov. 22. However, data from the California Department of Water Resources showed a far larger amount of water being released, peaking at 10 p.m. on Oct. 7 where the amount of water released measured at 5,973 cfs. A chart produced by the California Department of Water Resources shows the water releases below. In a statement, PG&E says the releases do fluctuate due to non-PG&E dam operations upstream that are beyond their control, adding that the utility is operating within its FERC (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) license. In response to the higher-than-expected flows, American Whitewater has appealed to FERC (the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission) to address the "significant public safety issue" caused by the sudden releases. These rapidly fluctuating flows pose a significant threat to public safety, endangering the public participating in river recreation within the San Joaquin River Gorge Recreation Area below the dam. American Whitewater American Whitewater cited an incident in 2018 when a Clovis teenager hiking in the area died after he was swept away by fast-moving water. American Whitewater says that water releases that day increased from 35 cfs to 5,989 cfs in just over an hour, causing a 7.5-foot rise in river height at the gauge below the dam. After the 2018 drowning, American Whitewater says PG&E introduced a practice called "Spill Season Flow Measure" in which a minimum of 500 cfs are released below Kerckhoff Dam during outages and high-flow events to provide a visual cue to warn the public. However, as American Whitewater points out, recreationists who are several feet from the river’s edge remain at risk when a multi-foot surge suddenly enters the San Joaquin River Gorge. "People have the right to expect that they can safely recreate in rivers below PG&E’s dams,” said Dave Steindorf with American Whitewater. American Whitewater has called on federal officials to amend the Kerckhoff Hydroelectric Project's current license "before anyone else is hurt or drowned by PG&E’s erratic water releases." In response to YourCentralValley.com's request for comment, PG&E says they "urge people to stay out of the water and to exercise caution if near the water as flows can change."