Donnells Dam | |
---|---|
Official name | Donnells 62-005 Dam[1] |
Country | United States |
Location | Tuolumne County, California[1][2] |
Coordinates | 38°19′48″N 119°57′46″W / 38.33000°N 119.96278°W |
Opening date | 1958[2] |
Owner(s) | Tri-Dam Project[2] |
Dam and spillways | |
Type of dam | Concrete arch |
Impounds | Middle Fork, Stanislaus River[2] |
Height | 291 feet (89 m)[2] |
Length | 714 feet (218 m)[2] |
Elevation at crest | 4,921.8 feet (1,500.2 m)[2] |
Reservoir | |
Creates | Donnell Lake[3] |
Total capacity | 56,893 acre-feet (70,176,000 m3)[2] |
Catchment area | 229 square miles (590 km2)[2] |
Surface area | 401 acres (162 ha)[2] |
Installed capacity | 72 MW |
Annual generation | 270,234,000 KWh (2001–2012)[4] |
Donnells Dam (National ID # CA00264) is a concrete arch dam located on the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River in Tuolumne County, California.[5] The water impounded by the 291-foot (89 m) high dam forms Donnell Lake in Stanislaus National Forest.[5] The dam and reservoir are co-owned by the Oakdale Irrigation District and South San Joaquin Irrigation District, and the dam is one of three in the Tri-Dam Project.[6] The other two dams in the project are Beardsley Dam and Tulloch Dam.
The dam has a length of 750 feet (230 m) at its crest and a storage capacity of 56,893 acre-feet (70,176,000 m3).[5][6] Donnells Reservoir, along with the two other dams of that make up the Tri-Dam Project, currently provide water for the irrigation of about 117,500 acres (47,600 ha) of farmland in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties.[6] The reservoir also generates hydroelectric power and supplies water to urban areas.[7]