Van Norman Dams

Van Norman Dams
Van Norman Dams
	An oblique aerial view of the Lower Van Norman Dam, taken after the February 9, 1971, San Fernando Earthquake
Country	United States
Location	Los Angeles County, California
Coordinates	34°17′10″N 118°28′47″W / 34.2862°N 118.4796°W
Purpose	Water supply
Status	Decommissioned
Construction began	1919; 105 years ago; (upper dam); 1911; 113 years ago; (lower dam)
Opening date	1921; 103 years ago; (upper dam); November 5, 1913;; 111 years ago; (lower dam)
Demolition date	February 9, 1971;; 53 years ago
Built by	Los Angeles Bureau of Water Works and Supply
Upper dam and spillways
Type of dam	Earth fill dam
Impounds	Los Angeles Aqueduct; Bull Creek
Height (foundation)	60 feet (18 m)
Length	1,200 feet (370 m)
Elevation at crest	1,218 feet (371 m)
Width (crest)	20 feet (6.1 m)
Upper reservoir
Total capacity	1,800 acre⋅ft (2.2×106 m3)
Normal elevation	1,213.2 feet (369.8 m)
Lower dam and spillways
Type of dam	Earth fill dam
Height (foundation)	142 feet (43 m)
Length	2,080 feet (630 m)
Elevation at crest	1,144.6 feet (348.9 m)
Lower reservoir
Total capacity	20,000 acre⋅ft (25×106 m3)
Normal elevation	1,134.6 feet (345.8 m)
Commission date	October 1922
Type	Conventional
Turbines	2× 2.8 MW

The Van Norman Dams, also known as the San Fernando Dams, were the terminus of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, supplying about 80 percent of Los Angeles' water,^[5] until they were damaged in the 1971 San Fernando earthquake and were subsequently decommissioned due to the inherent instability of the site and their location directly above heavily populated areas.

^ Cite error: The named reference performance was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "75,000 to Witness Official Aqueduct Opening Tomorrow". Section 2. Los Angeles Evening Herald. Vol. XL, no. 2. November 4, 1913. p. 1.
^ Lews, H. S.; Leyendecker, E. V.; Dikkers, R. D. (December 1971). Engineering aspects of 1971 San Fernando earthquake (PDF). Building Research Division, Institute for Applied Technology, National Bureau of Standards. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 367. LCCN 70-186531. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2021. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c Cite error: The named reference upper_sim was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Sykora, Davis W. "Lower San Fernando Dam (California, 1971) | Case Study | ASDSO Lessons Learned". Lessons Learned from Dam Incidents and Failures. Association of State Dam Safety Officials. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.
^ ^a ^b "San Fernando Hydro Power Plant CA USA". Global Energy Observatory. Retrieved July 23, 2021.

[performance-1] Cite error: The named reference performance was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[2] "75,000 to Witness Official Aqueduct Opening Tomorrow". Section 2. Los Angeles Evening Herald. Vol. XL, no. 2. November 4, 1913. p. 1.

[engineering-3] Lews, H. S.; Leyendecker, E. V.; Dikkers, R. D. (December 1971). Engineering aspects of 1971 San Fernando earthquake (PDF). Building Research Division, Institute for Applied Technology, National Bureau of Standards. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 367. LCCN 70-186531. Archived (PDF) from the original on December 8, 2020. Retrieved July 18, 2021. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |agency= ignored (help)

[upper_sim-4] Cite error: The named reference upper_sim was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[lessons-5] Sykora, Davis W. "Lower San Fernando Dam (California, 1971) | Case Study | ASDSO Lessons Learned". Lessons Learned from Dam Incidents and Failures. Association of State Dam Safety Officials. Archived from the original on June 10, 2021. Retrieved July 18, 2021.

[observatory-6] "San Fernando Hydro Power Plant CA USA". Global Energy Observatory. Retrieved July 23, 2021.

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