Castaic Creek
| Castaic Creek | |
| stream | |
Castaic Lake, with Castaic Lagoon and lower Castaic Creek in center-right side.
|
|
| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| State | California |
| Region | Los Angeles County |
| Part of | Santa Clara River |
| Source | |
| - location | Lake Hughes |
| Mouth | |
| - location | confluence with Santa Clara River at Castaic Junction |
| Length | 25 mi (40 km) |
Coordinates: 34°25′10″N 118°37′48″W / 34.41944°N 118.63000°W
Castaic Creek is a 25.0-mile-long (40.2 km) stream in the Sierra Pelona Mountains, in northeastern Los Angeles County, California. It is a tributary of the Santa Clara River.
Castaic Dam on the creek forms Castaic Lake, but most of the water comes from the West Branch of the West Branch California Aqueduct, part of the California State Water Project. The 323,700 acre foot (399,300,000 m3) lake is the terminus for west branch of the aqueduct. The aqueduct delivers water to the lake by a pipeline from Pyramid Lake.
Besides storing drinking water, Castaic Lake is the lower reservoir in a pumped-storage hydroelectric system. During times of peak electricity demand, water is released from Pyramid Lake and run through the turbines at Castaic Power Plant. At night, when demand and electricity prices are lower, water is pumped from Castaic Lake to Pyramid Lake. The income from the electricity sold offsets a portion of the cost for pumping the water in some parts of the aqueduct, such as over the Tehachapi Mountains.
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Wikipedia