California Aqueduct
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The California Aqueduct is a 444 mile (714.5 kilometer)-long[1] aqueduct in the United States that carries water from Northern California to Southern California. A typical section has a concrete-lined channel 40 feet (12 m) wide at the base and an average water depth of about 30 feet (9 m). The widest section of the aqueduct is 110 feet and the deepest is 32.8 feet (10 m). The size of the channel varies according to how much capacity that section of the aqueduct was projected to need.
The pumping and channel capacities at the start of the aqueduct are 10,300 and 10,670 cubic feet per second (292 and 302 m³/s), respectively. The largest channel capacity is 13,100 ft³/s (371 m³/s) and the largest pumping plant capacity is 15,450 ft³/s (437 m³/s).
The aqueduct begins at the Sacramento River Delta at the Banks Pumping Plant which pumps from the Clifton Court Forebay. Water is pumped by the Banks Pumping Plant to the Bethany Reservoir. The Bethany Reservoir serves as a forebay for the South Bay Aqueduct via the South Bay Pumping Plant. From the Bethany Reservoir the aqueduct flows by gravity approximately 60 miles to the O'Neil Forebay at the San Luis Reservoir. From the O'Neil Forebay it flows approximately 15 miles to the Dos Amigos Pumping Plant. After the Dos Amigos the aqueduct flow about 95 miles to where the Coastal Branch splits from the "main line". The split is approximently 10 miles south-southeast of Kettleman City. After the coastal branch the line continues by gravity another ~66 miles to the Buena Vista Pumping Plant. From the Buena Vista it flows ~27 miles to the Teerink Pumping Plant. After Teerlink it flows ~2.5 miles to the Chrisman Pumping Plant. Chrisman is the last pumping plant before Edmonston Pumping Plant, which is 13 miles from Chrisman. South of the plant the coastal branch splits off in a southwesterly direction to serve the central coast. At Edmonston Pumping Plant, it is pumped almost 2,000 feet over the Tehachapi Mountains.
Once it has crossed the Tehachapi Mountains the aqueduct divides into two branches; the West and the East Branches . The East Branch feeds Lake Perris and the San Gorgonio Pass area. While the West Branch heads toward Castaic Lake in the Angeles National Forest to supply the western Los Angleles basin.
Water flows through the aqueduct in a series of abrupt rises and gradual falls. The water flows down a long segment, built at a slight grade, and arrives at a pumping station powered by Path 66 or Path 15. The pumping station raises the water, where it again gradually flows downhill to the next station. However, where there are substantial drops, the water's potential energy is recaptured by hydroelectric plants. The initial pumping station fed by the Sacramento River Delta raises the water 240 feet (73 m), while a series of pumps culminating at the Edmonston Pumping Plant raises the water 2,000 feet (600 m) to cross the Tehachapi Mountains. The Edmonston Pumping station requires so much power that several power lines off of Path 15 and Path 26 are needed to ensure proper operation of the pumps. The Department of Water Resources (DWR) also operates two pumped-storage hydroelectric plants, Castaic and Gianelli. Gianelli is located at the base of San Luis Dam, which forms San Luis Reservoir, the largest offstream reservoir in the United States. The DWR also operates 20 other primary lakes and reservoirs.
