Union Valley Reservoir is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

in eastern El Dorado County, California, about northeast of Placerville. The lake is in

Eldorado National Forest Eldorado National Forest is a U.S. National Forest located in the central Sierra Nevada mountain range, in eastern California. Geography Most of the forest (72.8%) lies in El Dorado County. In descending order of land area the others counties ...

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 , 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 ...

. The reservoir is part of the

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 ...

of the

Sacramento Municipal Utility District The Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) is a community-owned electric utility serving Sacramento County and parts of Placer County. It is one of the ten largest publicly owned utilities in the United States, generating the bulk of its p ...

, a public electric utility, which operates the dam and many other dams in the area. Recreation such as boating,

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...

and

camping Camping is an outdoor activity involving overnight stays away from home, either without shelter or using basic shelter such as a tent, or a recreational vehicle. Typically, participants leave developed areas to spend time outdoors in more na ...

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

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. The reservoir is fed by Big Silver Creek, Jones Fork Silver Creek, Tells Creek, Wench Creek and the outflows of Robbs Peak and Jones Fork powerhouses. Jones Fork Powerhouse is not on Jones Fork Silver Creek but instead conveys water from Ice House Reservoir. Robbs Peak Powerhouse gets its water from the Middle Fork American River headwaters, by way of Loon Lake Reservoir, and small reservoirs on Gerle Creek and South Fork Rubicon River. Downstream from Union Valley Dam, Silver Creek waters are largely diverted through two additional powerhouses below small reservoirs before joining the South Fork American River a few miles north of

Pollock Pines, California Pollock Pines is a census-designated place (CDP) in El Dorado County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento– Arden-Arcade– Roseville Metropolitan Statistical Area. Pollock Pines lies at an elevation of in the Sierra N ...

. Silver Creek was an intermittent creek before the development of Union Valley Reservoir and the diversions from the Middle Fork American River.

References

Sacramento Municipal Utility District
{{authority control Reservoirs in El Dorado County, California Lakes of the Sierra Nevada (United States) Sacramento Municipal Utility District American River (California) Eldorado National Forest Reservoirs in Northern California

See also

References