Upper American River Project
The Upper American River Project (UARP) is a hydroelectric system operated by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) of Sacramento, California in the United States. The system consists of 11 dams and eight powerhouses that tap the upper tributaries of the American River drainage in the Sierra Nevada for power generation. Total installed capacity is over 687 MW, producing 1.8 billion KWh annually, enough for 20 percent of the city's electricity needs. The project mainly utilizes water from the South Fork American River and its tributaries, although some water is drawn from the Rubicon River, a tributary of the Middle Fork American River. Project dams provide water storage of about and a total hydraulic head of from the highest reservoir to the lowest powerplant outflow. History The UARP was authorized on August 28, 1957 by an act of the Federal Power Commission. SMUD began construction in September of that year, and the first power generation from UARP came online at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Loon Lake Pano
Loons (North American English) or divers (British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order Gaviiformes . Description Loons, which are the size of large ducks or small geese, resemble these birds in shape when swimming. Like ducks and geese, but unlike coots (which are Rallidae) and grebes ( Podicipedidae), the loon's toes are connected by webbing. The loons may be confused with the cormorants (Phalacrocoracidae), but can be distinguished from them by their distinct call. Cormorants are not-too-distant relatives of loons, and like them are heavy-set birds whose bellies, unlike those of ducks and geese, are submerged when swimming. Loons in flight resemble plump geese with seagulls' wings that are relatively small in proportion to their bulky bodies. The bird points its head slightly upwards while swimming, but less so than cormorants. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hydraulic Head
Hydraulic head or piezometric head is a specific measurement of liquid pressure above a vertical datum., 410 pages. See pp. 43–44., 650 pages. See p. 22. It is usually measured as a liquid surface elevation, expressed in units of length, at the entrance (or bottom) of a piezometer. In an aquifer, it can be calculated from the depth to water in a piezometric well (a specialized water well), and given information of the piezometer's elevation and screen depth. Hydraulic head can similarly be measured in a column of water using a standpipe piezometer by measuring the height of the water surface in the tube relative to a common datum. The hydraulic head can be used to determine a ''hydraulic gradient'' between two or more points. "Head" in fluid dynamics In fluid dynamics, ''head'' is a concept that relates the energy in an incompressible fluid to the height of an equivalent static column of that fluid. From Bernoulli's principle, the total energy at a given point in a fluid i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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American River (California)
, name_etymology = , image = American River CA.jpg , image_size = 300 , image_caption = The American River at Folsom , map = Americanrivermap.png , map_size = 300 , map_caption = Map of the American River watershed. It includes the North, Middle, and South forks of the river as well as Rubicon River, a tributary of the Middle Fork. , pushpin_map = , pushpin_map_size = , pushpin_map_caption= , subdivision_type1 = Country , subdivision_name1 = United States , subdivision_type2 = State , subdivision_name2 = California , subdivision_type3 = Region , subdivision_name3 = Sacramento Valley , subdivision_type4 = , subdivision_name4 = , subdivision_type5 = City , subdivision_name5 = Sacramento , length = , Northeast-southwestMain stem ; North Fork U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed March 10, 2011 ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Decameter
A decametre ( International spelling as used by the International Bureau of Weights and Measures and by most English speaking countries, United States spelling dekameter or decameter,), symbol dam ("da" for the SI prefix deca-, "m" for the SI unit metre), is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI) equal to ten metres. While any combination of SI prefix and unit can be used, many are rarely used in practice; the decametre is used less frequently than other units of length. One practical use is for altitude of geopotential heights in meteorology. The volumetric form ''cubic decametre'' is convenient for describing large volumes of water such as in rivers and lakes; a volume of one cubic decametre (dam3) is equivalent to a capacity of one megalitre (ML). One technical atmosphere is the pressure of one decameter of water. Also, the are (a), a metric unit for land area, is equal to one square decametre (dam2). See also *Orders of magnitude (length) *Conversi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Acre Feet
The acre-foot is a non- SI unit of volume equal to about commonly used in the United States in reference to large-scale water resources, such as reservoirs, aqueducts, canals, sewer flow capacity, irrigation water, and river flows. An acre-foot equals approximately an eight-lane swimming pool, long, wide and deep. Definitions As the name suggests, an acre-foot is defined as the volume of one acre of surface area to a depth of one foot. Since an acre is defined as a chain by a furlong (i.e. ), an acre-foot is . There are two definitions of an acre-foot (differing by about 0.0006%), depending on whether the "foot" used is an "international foot" or a "U.S. survey foot". Application As a rule of thumb in US water management, one acre-foot is taken to be the planned annual water usage of a suburban family household. In some areas of the desert Southwest, where water conservation is followed and often enforced, a typical family uses only about 0.25 acre-foot of water p ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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United States Geological Survey
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, and the natural hazards that threaten it. The organization's work spans the disciplines of biology, geography, geology, and hydrology. The USGS is a fact-finding research organization with no regulatory responsibility. The agency was founded on March 3, 1879. The USGS is a bureau of the United States Department of the Interior; it is that department's sole scientific agency. The USGS employs approximately 8,670 people and is headquartered in Reston, Virginia. The USGS also has major offices near Lakewood, Colorado, at the Denver Federal Center, and Menlo Park, California. The current motto of the USGS, in use since August 1997, is "science for a changing world". The agency's previous slogan, adopted on the occasion of its hundredt ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Slab Creek Dam
Slab Creek Dam is a dam in the American River watershed of the central Sierra Nevada, within El Dorado County, California. The dam and reservoir impound the upper South Fork American River for hydroelectric power, and are named for Slab Creek, a nearby tributary. Dam The concrete arch dam was constructed in 1967 as part of the Upper American River Project by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD). It has a height of , and a length of at its crest. Slab Creek Dam is one of several dams and reservoirs owned by SMUD. Others include the 1959 Ice House Dam Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opa ..., the 1963 Loon Lake (California), Loon Lake Dam, and the 1963 Union Valley Reservoir, Union Valley Dam. Slab Creek Reservoir The reservoir the dam creates, Slab Creek ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ice House Reservoir
The Upper American River Project (UARP) is a hydroelectric system operated by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) of Sacramento, California in the United States. The system consists of 11 dams and eight powerhouses that tap the upper tributaries of the American River drainage in the Sierra Nevada for power generation. Total installed capacity is over 687 MW, producing 1.8 billion KWh annually, enough for 20 percent of the city's electricity needs. The project mainly utilizes water from the South Fork American River and its tributaries, although some water is drawn from the Rubicon River, a tributary of the Middle Fork American River. Project dams provide water storage of about and a total hydraulic head of from the highest reservoir to the lowest powerplant outflow. History The UARP was authorized on August 28, 1957 by an act of the Federal Power Commission. SMUD began construction in September of that year, and the first power generation from UARP came online at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Union Valley Reservoir
Union Valley Reservoir is a reservoir in eastern El Dorado County, California, about northeast of Placerville. The lake is in Eldorado National Forest in the Sierra Nevada at an elevation of . It was formed in 1963 by the high earth and rockfill Union Valley Dam on Silver Creek, which is a tributary of the American River. The reservoir is part of the Upper American River Project of the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, a public electric utility, which operates the dam and many other dams in the area. Recreation such as boating, fishing and camping is available there. It stores snow melt runoff during the spring and releases it during the summer when electrical demand is greatest to a chain of hydroelectric power plants downstream. Union Valley Powerhouse at the base of the dam has a capacity of 46.7 MW and is operated as a peaking power plant, supplying electricity during times of the greatest demand. Consumptive rights to the water itself are held by the City of Sa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Loon Lake (California)
Loon Lake is a reservoir in the Eldorado National Forest of El Dorado County, California, United States. The lake is formed by Loon Lake Dam, completed in 1963 as part of the Upper American River Project by Sacramento Municipal Utility District to conserve spring snow melt runoff for use during the summer and autumn for hydroelectric power production. Loon Lake Dam impounds water at the headwaters of Gerle Creek which, prior to the dam, flowed intermittently through (natural) Loon and Pleasant Lakes. But most of the water now stored in Loon Lake arrives from Buck Island Reservoir in the adjacent Rubicon River watershed by way of the Buck-Loon Tunnel. Nearby is Loon Lake Chalet, a popular winter recreation destination. In summer, a boat ramp for water sports and camping are available, but the area is less popular than nearby Union Valley Reservoir and Rubicon Trail. It is also known as Loon Lake Reservoir. Boaters refer to the northeast portion of the reservoir as the Pleasant La ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Federal Power Commission
The Federal Power Commission (FPC) was an independent commission of the United States government, originally organized on June 23, 1930, with five members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. The FPC was originally created in 1920 by the Federal Water Power Act, which provided for the licensing by the FPC of hydroelectric projects on the land or navigable water owned by the federal government. The FPC has since been replaced by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The FPC also regulated interstate electric utilities and the natural gas industry. In June 1939, President Roosevelt appointed Leland Olds to the FPC, who served as chairman from January 1940 until 1949. Under Olds’ leadership, the FPC successfully pressured electric utilities to extend power into neglected rural areas and to lower electricity rates to increase use. Olds' insistence on enforcing the Natural Gas Act of 1938 raised the ire of the oil industry in Texas and led to the end of his t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Middle Fork American River
The Middle Fork American River is one of three forks that form the American River in Northern California. It drains a large watershed in the high Sierra Nevada west of Lake Tahoe and northeast of Sacramento in Placer and El Dorado Counties, between the watersheds of the North Fork American River and South Fork American River. The Middle Fork joins with the North Fork near Auburn and they continue downstream to Folsom Lake as the North Fork, even though the Middle Fork carries a larger volume of water. The Middle Fork was one of the richest gold mining areas during the California Gold Rush of the 1850s, and is still recreationally mined today. The river is dammed extensively to produce hydroelectricity and provide domestic water supply. Although long stretches of the Middle Fork have been dewatered by diversions, the portion of the river and canyon in the Auburn State Recreation Area is one of the state's most popular whitewater runs. Professional whitewater rafting companies off ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |