Pardee Dam is a -high structure across the

Mokelumne River The Mokelumne River ( or ; ''Mokelumne'', Miwok for "People of the Fish Net") is a -long river in northern California in the United States. The river flows west from a rugged portion of the central Sierra Nevada into the Central Valley and ul ...

which marks the boundary between Amador and Calaveras Counties, located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada approximately northeast of Stockton.

History

Construction of the Pardee Dam began in July 1927. It was completed in 1929 with the first release of water into the

Mokelumne Aqueduct The Mokelumne Aqueduct is a water conveyance system in central California, United States. The aqueduct is supplied by the Mokelumne River and provides water to 35 municipalities in the East Bay in the San Francisco Bay Area. The aqueduct and the ...

occurring on June 23, 1929.CalaverasHistory.org
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Overview

The impounded water forms Pardee Reservoir, the primary source of water for the

East Bay Municipal Utility District East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD), colloquially referred to as "East Bay Mud", is a public utility district which provides water and sewage treatment services for an area of approximately in the eastern side of the San Francisco Bay. ...

(EBMUD) in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...

. Like all the reservoirs in the Sierra watershed, most of the water originates from the annual snowpack in the High Sierra. The reservoir normally covers with a capacity and of shoreline. California state law prohibits human body to water contact within Pardee Reservoir, so water skiers, jet skis, and lake swimmers are forbidden, but boating and fishing remain popular activities. The water is transported from Pardee Reservoir across the Central Valley via the triple steel pipe

to several storage reservoirs located in the hills east of San Francisco Bay which supply drinking water to the East Bay region. The water is also used to generate electric power and for recreation. Both the dam and its reservoir are named for

George Pardee George Cooper Pardee (July 25, 1857 – September 1, 1941) was an American doctor of medicine and politician. As the 21st Governor of California, holding office from January 7, 1903, to January 9, 1907, Pardee was the second native-born Californi ...

, a prominent

Progressive Era The Progressive Era (late 1890s – late 1910s) was a period of widespread social activism and political reform across the United States focused on defeating corruption, monopoly, waste and inefficiency. The main themes ended during Am ...

politician in the Bay Area who also served as Governor of California. A view of Pardee Dam from the overlook on Pardee Dam road

Salmon Activity

Due to the many dams along the Mokelumne River, salmon runs that used to cross through to the present location of the Pardee Reservoir are stopped short in lower sections of the river. In the Fall of 2014, the fifth largest

Chinook salmon The Chinook salmon (''Oncorhynchus tshawytscha'') is the largest and most valuable species of Pacific salmon in North America, as well as the largest in the genus '' Oncorhynchus''. Its common name is derived from the Chinookan peoples. Other ...

count recorded in the past 74 years took place, with over 12,118 salmon. Below the dam lies a hatchery that is the result of a joint project with EBMUD and California Department of Fish and Wildlife. There, about a fourth of the returning salmon are collected and harvested for egg production. Along with raising the salmon, scientists work to manipulate river flow to encourage more salmon to return. During times of low water level, the fish are at risk of being drawn into water pumps that lead towards the south past the delta. To avoid this, scientists truck the baby salmon from the hatchery to Sherman Island in the delta. The goal of the hatchery is that the baby salmon will imprint to the water in the Mokelumne River and return when it is time for them to mate.

References

*
Columbia Gazetteer (2000)

External links

EBMUD Daily water supply reportCurrent Conditions, Pardee Reservoir, California Department of Water Resources
* * * * * *{{HAER , survey=CA-168-D , id=ca2032 , title=Pardee Dam, Jackson Creek Spillway , link=no Buildings and structures in Amador County, California Buildings and structures in Calaveras County, California Dams in California San Joaquin River United States local public utility dams Dams completed in 1929 East Bay Municipal Utility District Energy infrastructure completed in 1929 Arch dams Dams on the Mokelumne River Historic American Engineering Record in California 1929 establishments in California

History

Overview

Salmon Activity

See also

References

External links