New Don Pedro Dam
| New Don Pedro Dam | |
|---|---|
Aerial view of New Don Pedro Dam
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Tuolumne County, near La Grange, California |
| Coordinates | 37°41′58″N 120°25′15″W / 37.69944°N 120.42083°WCoordinates: 37°41′58″N 120°25′15″W / 37.69944°N 120.42083°W |
| Construction began | 1967 |
| Opening date | 1971 |
| Owner(s) | Modesto Irrigation District and Turlock Irrigation District |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment |
| Impounds | Tuolumne River |
| Height | 585 ft (178 m) |
| Length | 1,900 ft (580 m) |
| Elevation at crest | 855 ft (261 m) |
| Width (crest) | 40 ft (12 m) |
| Dam volume | 16,750,000 cu yd (12,810,000 m3) |
| Spillway type | Controlled overflow |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Don Pedro |
| Total capacity | 2,030,000 acre·ft (2.50 km3) |
| Catchment area | 1,542 sq mi (3,990 km2) |
| Surface area | 12,960 acres (5,240 ha) |
| Normal elevation | 830 ft (250 m) (max) |
| Power station | |
| Hydraulic head | 560 ft (170 m) |
| Turbines | 3 x 55MW, 1 x 38MW Francis-type |
| Installed capacity | 203 MW |
| Annual generation | 618,400,000 KWh |
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. and its reservoir is the sixth largest artificial lake in California.
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.
Shortly after their formation in 1887, the MID and TID acquired water rights to the Tuolumne River to secure a water supply for their combined 1,000-square-mile (2,600 km2) service area in the San Joaquin Valley. After selling revenue bonds totaling $4.1 million, the two irrigation districts began construction of the Don Pedro Dam (now known as Old Don Pedro Dam) in 1921, about one and a half miles (2.4 km) upriver of the present location of New Don Pedro Dam. Upon its completion in 1923, this 284-foot (87 m) concrete gravity arch dam was the highest dam in the world, forming a 289,000-acre-foot (0.356 km3) reservoir with a surface area of 3,086 acres (1,249 ha). The dam's 15 megawatt (MW) hydroelectric plant, later expanded to 37.5 MW, delivered its first power in October 1923.
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