New Don Pedro Dam

The New Don Pedro Dam
Aerial view of New Don Pedro Dam
CountryUnited States
LocationTuolumne County, near La Grange, California
Coordinates37°41′58″N 120°25′15″W / 37.69944°N 120.42083°W / 37.69944; -120.42083
Construction began1967 (1967)
Opening date1971 (1971)
Owner(s)Modesto Irrigation District and Turlock Irrigation District
Dam and spillways
Type of damEmbankment
ImpoundsTuolumne River
Height585 ft (178 m)[1]
Length1,900 ft (580 m)[1]
Elevation at crest855 ft (261 m)
Width (crest)40 ft (12 m)
Dam volume16,750,000 cu yd (12,810,000 m3)
Spillway typeControlled overflow
Reservoir
CreatesLake Don Pedro
Total capacity2,030,000 acre⋅ft (2.50 km3)[1]
Catchment area1,542 sq mi (3,990 km2)[2]
Surface area12,960 acres (5,240 ha)[2]
Normal elevation830 ft (250 m) (max)[3]
Power Station
Hydraulic head560 ft (170 m)
Turbines3 x 55MW, 1 x 38MW Francis-type
Installed capacity203 MW[1]
Annual generation552,381,000 KWh (2001–2012)[4]

New Don Pedro Dam, often known simply as Don Pedro Dam, is an earthen embankment dam across the Tuolumne River, about 2 miles (3.2 km) northeast of La Grange, in Tuolumne County, California. The dam was completed in 1971, after four years of construction, to replace the 1924 concrete-arch Don Pedro Dam.

The dam serves mainly for irrigation water storage, flood control and hydroelectricity production, and impounds Don Pedro Reservoir in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada.

The New Don Pedro Dam is owned and operated by the Modesto Irrigation District (MID) and Turlock Irrigation District (TID). At 585 feet (178 m) tall, the dam is the tenth highest in the U.S.[5] and its reservoir is the sixth largest artificial lake in California.[6]

The original dam was named for the old mining town of Don Pedros Bar on the Tuolumne River, which in turn takes its name from prospector Pierre "Don Pedro" Sainsevain.[7]

  1. ^ a b c d "Don Pedro Reservoir" (PDF). Turlock Irrigation District. Don Pedro Recreation Agency. Retrieved March 26, 2012.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ a b "Don Pedro Reservoir (DNP)". California Data Exchange Center. California Department of Water Resources. Retrieved March 26, 2012.
  3. ^ "Don Pedro Dam". UC Davis. Archived from the original on January 30, 2015. Retrieved January 30, 2015.
  4. ^ "California Hydroelectric Statistics & Data". California Energy Commission. Archived from the original on February 26, 2018. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  5. ^ "Dam, Hydropower and Reservoir Statistics". United States Society on Dams. Archived from the original on March 25, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  6. ^ "Alphabetical List of California Dams (Over 40,000 acre feet)". Civil and Environmental Engineering. University of California Davis. Archived from the original on February 5, 2012. Retrieved March 28, 2012.
  7. ^ "Don Pedro – There Really Was One, But He Was A Frenchman!". Don Pedro Recreation Agency. February 20, 1972. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2012.

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