The Dos Amigos Pumping Plant is a

water pumping The pumping of water is a basic and practical technique, far more practical than scooping it up with one's hands or lifting it in a hand-held bucket. This is true whether the water is drawn from a fresh source, moved to a needed location, purifie ...

plant, constructed between 1963 and 1966 as part of the

California State Water Project The California State Water Project, commonly known as the SWP, is a state water management project in the U.S. state of California under the supervision of the California Department of Water Resources. The SWP is one of the largest public water ...

. It is able to withhold and transport water between

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

and

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most po ...

through an approximately 444 mile aqueduct. It is located in

Central California Central California is generally thought of as the middle third of the state, north of Southern California, which includes Los Angeles, and south of Northern California, which includes San Francisco. It includes the northern portion of the San J ...

San Joaquin Valley The San Joaquin Valley ( ; es, Valle de San Joaquín) is the area of the Central Valley of the U.S. state of California that lies south of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta and is drained by the San Joaquin River. It comprises seven c ...

along

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

, about 10 miles (16 kilometers) south of Los Banos in

Merced County Merced County ( ), is a county located in the northern San Joaquin Valley section of the Central Valley, in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 281,202. The county seat is Merced. The county is named after ...

. The plant is the second pumping plant for the

California Aqueduct The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern and Central California to Southern California. Named after Cali ...

and the

South Bay Aqueduct The South Bay Aqueduct is an aqueduct (water supply), aqueduct located in the eastern part of the San Francisco Bay Area. It conveys water from the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta through over forty miles of pipelines and canals. It begins in north-e ...

. It provides the necessary fluid head (potential energy) for the California Aqueduct to flow for approximately 95 miles (153 km) to where the

Coastal Branch The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern and Central California to Southern California. Named after Califo ...

splits from the "main line" approximately 10 miles (16 km) south-southeast of

Kettleman City Kettleman City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Kings County, California, United States. Kettleman City is located southwest of Hanford, 54 miles (88 km) south of Fresno, at an elevation of , and sits only about 1/2 mile north of the 36th p ...

. After the Coastal Branch junction, the line continues south by gravity another 66 miles (106 km) to the

Buena Vista Pumping Plant The Governor Edmund G. Brown California Aqueduct is a system of canals, tunnels, and pipelines that conveys water collected from the Sierra Nevada Mountains and valleys of Northern and Central California to Southern California. Named after Califo ...

. The California Aqueduct is made up of small bodies of water such as canals and tunnels that are able to transport water. The aqueduct starts at the

Clifton Court Forebay Clifton Court Forebay is a reservoir in the San Joaquin River Delta region of eastern Contra Costa County, California, southwest of Stockton, California, Stockton. The estuary region the forebay is located in is only 1m to 3m above mean sea lev ...

in Sacramento and makes its way down South where it splits into three different branches that is broken up into different areas of the counties down South. These categories include West Branch, East Branch, and Coastal Branch. As the aqueduct flows through California it goes through many reservoirs such as

San Luis Reservoir The San Luis Reservoir is an artificial lake on San Luis Creek in the eastern slopes of the Diablo Range of Merced County, California, approximately west of Los Banos on State Route 152, which crosses Pacheco Pass and runs along its north ...

. From the San Luis Reservoir to the

O'Neill Forebay O'Neill Forebay is a forebay to the San Luis Reservoir created by the construction of O'Neill Dam across San Luis Creek approximately west of Los Banos, California, United States, on the eastern slopes of the Pacific Coast Ranges of Merced Cou ...

, the water flows down into the Dos Amigos Pumping Plant which is approximately 16 miles. After going through Dos Amigos Pumping Plant It reaches the

that is split for across a line that goes for about 16 miles towards

Specifications

* Units: 6 * Normal static head: * Total flow at design head: per second * Lift: 118ft and 74m * Longitude: -120.8288º * Latitude: 36.92384º * Elevation: 282 ft

References

External links

* California State Water Project Water supply infrastructure in California Water supply pumping stations in the United States Buildings and structures in Merced County, California {{watersupply-stub

Specifications

See also

References

External links

References