General Description

The Shasta and Trinity River Divisions catch the headwaters of the network of Central Valley Project waterways and channel the water southward. Both divisions are part of the Central Valley Project.  They are close to each another, with the Shasta Division on the Sacramento River about 10 miles north of Redding and the TrinityRiver Division on the Trinity River about 25 miles northwest of Redding.  Surplus water from the Trinity River Basin is stored, regulated, and diverted through a system of dams, reservoirs, tunnels, and powerplants into the Sacramento River for use in water-deficient areas of the Central Valley Basin. Water is used for irrigation, power generation, navigation flows, environmental and wildlife conservation, and municipal and industrial needs.

Reclamation built and operates these facilities.

Reservoirs of both divisions provide boating, fishing, swimming, water skiing, camping, hunting, and sightseeing, which are enjoyed by nearly a million tourists annually.  The Forest Service administers The Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area.

Plan

The Shasta Division has a drainage area of 6,665 square miles and a storage capacity of 4,552,000 acre-feet.  It consists of Shasta Dam and Shasta Lake, Shasta Powerplant, and Keswick Dam and Powerplant. 

Operations

The Shasta Division operates as probably the least complex division in the Central Valley Project. Shasta Dam stores Sacramento River water for releases to the south. The dam provides a flood control barrier on the river to protect inhabited areas downstream. When in operation, Shasta Powerplant uses part of the releases for hydroelectric power.

Shasta Dam and Shasta Lake

Shasta Dam, on the Sacramento River near Redding, California, serves to control floodwaters and store surplus winter runoff for irrigation in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys, maintain navigation flows, provide flows for the conservation of fish in the Sacramento River and water for municipal and industrial use, protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta from intrusion of saline ocean water, and generate hydroelectric power.

Shasta Dam is the second largest dam in mass in the United States (Grand Coulee on the Columbia River in Washington State is the largest). The dam is 602 feet high, with a crest length of 3,460 feet. It is 883 feet thick at the bottom and 30 feet thick at the top.  Shasta Dam is a curved concrete gravity-type dam with 6.5 million cubic yards of concrete weighing 15 million tons.  Construction of the dam started in 1938 and ended in 1945.  The spillway is 487 feet long--the largest manmade waterfall in the world. It is 375 feet wide with three drum gates each 110 feet wide, 28 feet tall, and weighing 500 tons each. There are 18 outlets on the face of the dam, each 8 ½ feet in diameter  with a maximum capacity of 186,000 cubic feet per second.

Reclamation offers a virtual tour of  Shasta Dam and powerplant.

Shasta Lake is the largest manmade reservoir in California, with a capacity of 4,552,000 acre-feet. There are 365 miles of shoreline, 35 miles at its longest point (the Pit River Arm).  Shasta Lake provides abundant recreation, including boating, fishing, swimming, water skiing, camping, hunting, and houseboating. Many summer home sites have been developed along the shore, some accessible only by boat. Many resorts cater to the needs of the visitors to the Shasta Lake Recreation Area.

Shasta Powerplant

 Shasta Powerplant is just below Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River in Shasta County, California, nine miles northwest of Redding, California. At 156 feet tall --as tall as a 15-story building--it is one of the largest hydropower plants in California.

Water from the dam is released through penstocks to drive the turbines which operate the five main generator units and two station service units. The five penstocks are each 15 feet in diameter - large enough to permit a school bus to pass through.  To drive each turbine at full-generator load, 85 tons of water per second are required.  Two 2,500 kW station service generators are an integral part of the powerplant.  Power is generated at 13,800 volts and stepped up to 230,000 volts for transmission to California consumers.   It began operation with 2 generators in 1944; the last of the 5 generators went into operation in 1949.  The plant's capacity is 584,000 kW.  Work began in 1996 to replace the stator cores of generator units 3, 4, and 5 at a cost of $8.8 million.  When the work has been completed in 2000, each unit will have been uprated to 142 megawatts.

The powerplant provides peaking power from reservoir releases.  Units 1 and 2 are rated at 13.8 kV, 125 MW, 0.97 pf, 138.5 rpm, manufactured by General Electric.  Unit 4 and 5 were recently uprated to 142MVA by Alstom (formerly GEC Alstom) at 13.8kV, unity power factor. and Unit 5 is rated at 13.8 kV, 105 MW, 0.97 pf, 138.5 rpm, manufactured by General Electric.  Unit 3 is rated at 13.8 kV, 118 MW, 0.97 pf, 138.5 rpm, manufactured by General Electric but is scheduled to be uprated to 142MW in 2000.  The two station service units are rated at 2.4 kV, 2.0 MW, 0.80 pf, 600 rpm, manufactured by General Electric.  The maximum plant capacity for all these units will be 680,000 kilowatts.

Keswick Dam and Reservoir

Keswick Dam is located on the Sacramento River, 9 miles downstream from Shasta Dam. It is a concrete gravity structure, 157 feet high, with a crest length of 1,046 feet. The dam creates a 23,800 acre-foot afterbay for Shasta Lake and the Trinity River Division. It stabilizes the uneven water releases from the powerplants. The dam also has migratory fish trapping facilities that operate in conjunction with the Coleman Fish Hatchery 25 miles downstream on Battle Creek. Salmon and other migratory fish are trapped when they reach the dam and are then taken to the hatchery operated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Keswick Powerplant

Keswick Powerplant at Keswick Dam contains three generating units rated at 41,053 kVA, 6.9 kV, 0.95 power factor, at 94.7 rpm.  All three units were manufactured by General Electric and were placed in service in 1949.   MIL Tracy rewound the units under Solicitations 922 and 2279, starting June 1990.  The maximum plant capacity for all three units is 117,000 kilowatts.

Trinity River Division

 The Trinity River Division consists of Trinity Dam and Clair Engle Lake, Trinity Powerplant, Lewiston Dam and Lake, Lewiston Powerplant, Clear Creek Tunnel, Judge Francis Carr Powerhouse, Whiskeytown Dam and Lake, Spring Creek Tunnel and Powerplant, Spring Creek Debris Dam and Reservoir, and related pumping and distribution facilities. The Trinity River flows 110 miles westerly where it joins the Klamath River at a point approximately 41 river miles from the Pacific Ocean. Plans to divert Trinity River water to the Sacramento River Basin formed part of the California State Water Plan. Trinity Reservoir is about 50 miles west of Redding in northern California.

Operations

Trinity Dam stores water from the Trinity River in Clair Engle Lake.  Water is released through Trinity Powerplant. Downstream, Lewiston Dam diverts water from the Trinity River, through the Lewiston Powerplant, into Clear Creek Tunnel for the eleven-mile trip through the Trinity Mountains.

Trinity Dam and Clair Engle Lake

On the Trinity River, Trinity Dam regulates flows and stores surplus water for irrigation. Completed in 1962, it is an earthfill structure, 538 feet high, with a crest length of 2,450 feet.

 Clair Engle Lake has a storage capacity of 2,448,000 acre-feet. The lake offers recreation facilities for camping, boating, water skiing, swimming, fishing, and hunting.

Trinity Powerplant

Trinity Powerplant is a peaking plant with generated power first dedicated to meeting the needs of the project facilities.  The remaining energy is then marketed to various preference customers in northern California, with Trinity County having first preference.

Trinity Dam's hydroelectric powerplant began operation in 1964 with a capacity of 100,000 kW for its two generators.  Using advancements in high voltage technology, Reclamation uprated both generators  by 20,000 kW for a current total capacity of 140,000 kW.

Lewiston Dam and Lake

Lewiston Dam, about 7 miles downstream from Trinity Dam, creates an afterbay to Trinity Powerplant and diverts water by means of Clear Creek Tunnel to Whiskeytown Lake. Lewiston Dam is an earthfill structure 91 feet high and 754 feet long, forming a reservoir with a capacity of 14,660 acre-feet.

Lewiston Powerplant

Lewiston Powerplant is at the base of Lewiston Dam, 7 miles downstream from Trinity Dam. It  creates an afterbay to Trinity Powerplant and diverts water through the Clear Creek Tunnel to Whiskeytown Lake.  Lewiston Powerplant has one station service unit rated at 350 kilowatts, 480V, 0.8 pf, 600 rpm, manufactured by Electric Machinery.

Lewiston Powerplant, which began operation in 1964, is a "run-of-the-river" plant which provides station service to the Trinity Powerplant.  It also provides power to a local fish hatchery..  Any excess energy is sold to Pacific Gas and Electric. Releases from Lewiston Powerplant are used to provide attraction flows for the Lewiston Hatchery intake and power for the hatchery infrastructure.

Trinity River Fish Hatchery

The Trinity River Fish Hatchery, operated by the California Department of Fish and Game, has a capacity of about 40 million eggs. It is immediately downstream from Lewiston Dam and compensates for the upstream spawning area that has been rendered inaccessible and unusable by the dams.

Clear Creek Tunnel

Clear Creek Tunnel, 17.5 feet in diameter and 10.7 miles long, conveys water from Lewiston Lake to Judge Francis Carr Powerhouse and Whiskeytown Lake. A bypass is provided into Crystal Creek.

Judge Francis Carr Powerhouse

The Judge Francis Carr Powerhouse (formerly Clear Creek Powerplant) is on Clear Creek at the outlet of the Clear Creek Tunnel on the northwestern extremity of Whiskeytown Lake.  It is at the downstream end of the Clear Creek Tunnel, which transports water from Lewiston Reservoir to Whiskeytown Reservoir.  A bypass is provided into Crystal Creek if units at the powerplant are inoperative.

Whiskeytown Dam and Lake

Located on Clear Creek, Whiskeytown Dam provides regulation for Trinity River flows discharged from Judge Francis Carr Powerhouse and regulates the runoff from the Clear Creek drainage area. The dam is an earthfill structure 282 feet high with a crest length of 4,000 feet.

The reservoir, Whiskeytown Lake, has a capacity of 241,100 acre-feet and provides recreation facilities for picnicking, camping, swimming, boating, water skiing, fishing, and hunting.

Spring Creek Debris Dam and Reservoir

Spring Creek Debris Dam, located on Spring Creek above the Spring Creek Powerplant tailrace, is an earthfill structure, 196 feet high, with a crest length of 1,110 feet. Spring Creek Reservoir, with a capacity of 5,870 acre-feet, controls debris which would otherwise enter the powerplant tailrace and provides important fishery benefits by controlling contaminated runoff resulting from old mine tailings on Spring Creek.

Spring Creek Tunnel

The Spring Creek Tunnel diverts water from Whiskeytown Lake on Clear Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River, to the Spring Creek Powerplant. The tunnel is 18.5 feet in diameter and about 2.4 miles long, including the 0.6-mile-long, 17-foot-diameter Rock Creek Siphon.

Spring Creek Powerplant

Spring Creek Powerplant is near Redding, California, at the Spring Creek arm of  Keswick Reservoir, about 1.6 km (1 mile) northwest of Keswick Dam.  It is at the foot of the Spring Creek Debris Dam, and water for power is received through the Spring Creek Tunnel which diverts the water from Whiskeytown Lake on Clear Creek.  Water from the plant is discharged to Keswick Reservoir.

Distribution System

The Cow Creek Unit and the Clear Creek South Unit were authorized as a part of the Trinity River Division. They consist of pumping plants and conveyance systems to transport irrigation water to some 6,800 acres of irrigable land east of Redding, and 4,600 acres of irrigable land west of Anderson, respectively.

Development

The Yana and Atsigewi inhabited the Shasta region before the influx of European settlers. Because the Spanish concentrated their missions along the coast of California, much of the region remained uninhabited by Europeans until the 1840s. The discovery of gold in California brought floods of white immigrants to the state.

In the dust bowl depression era, many people migrated to California and needed reliable water supply and conveyance systems. California designed the Central Valley Project to control Sacramento River floods and to transfer water to the dry lands of the San Joaquin Valley. The State was unable to finance the project and  could not get the project approved for loans and grants under the National Recovery Act.

Settlement of the Shasta area accelerated with the start of construction of Shasta Dam. The increased job opportunities brought hundreds of families to the region. They created new communities including Project City, Summit City, Central Valley (formerly Boomtown), and Santa Claus. The proximity of Shasta Dam increased the value of submarginal lands. Owners subdivided the land and sold it to businesses and residents at inflated prices.

After Shasta Dam was completed, Shasta Lake placed an obstacle in the path of people commuting near the reservoir. To relieve the problem, Reclamation started a ferry operation on the lake in 1945, for businesses and individuals needing to traverse the new body of water.

Reclamation established the Sacramento Valley District on December 14, 1945, and abolished the Kennett Division on September 5, 1946. On April 27, 1949, the fifth unit started operation in Shasta Powerplant, 5 years after the first unit started. On July 2, 1949, Reclamation started guided tours for the public at Shasta. Completion of all facilities at the dam occurred in 1950.

Reclamation formally dedicated Shasta Dam as the key structure of the Central Valley Project on June 17, 1950. Shasta spilled for the first time on May 18, 1952.

Estimates indicated the town of Redding and Shasta County increased in population by 40 percent after the beginning of operations. Redding and Shasta County increased greatly by 1990. The 1990 census recorded a population of 66,462 in Redding. Shasta County had 147,036 residents. Central Valley had a  population of 4,340 in 1990.

In the 1970s, controversy grew around migratory fish species, primarily Chinook salmon and steelhead trout, and how the presence of dams on the Shasta Division affected them. Shasta and Keswick Dams blocked a large number of streams tributary to the Sacramento River that were used for spawning by the migratory fish. Fish traps and hatcheries combined to move the migrating fish upstream or artificially breed them, but they could not stop the decline in the population of migratory aquatic wildlife. Shasta Dam not only blocked migration upstream, but it blocked the flow of cool water downstream, keeping water temperature above the maximum fifty-six degrees fahrenheit necessary for the spawning salmon. Beginning in 1992, Reclamation bypassed the turbines in Shasta Powerplant and released water directly into the Sacramento River to improve conditions for the endangered winter-run Chinook salmon.

Investigations

The Committee on Rivers and Harbors of the House of Representatives recommended constructing  Kennett (Shasta) Dam because of the national benefits in navigation and flood control on the Sacramento River. After reviewing the investigations, the California Joint Federal-State Water Resources Commission, the United States Senate Committee on Irrigation and Reclamation, Bureau of Reclamation, and the Army Corps of Engineers approved and recommended the plan.

For the future Shasta Dam, Reclamation studied only the original Kennett site that had been investigated by the State. The Commissioner of Reclamation officially named the dam Shasta, after Mount Shasta, citing the geographic and historic significance of the name. The unofficial use of Kennett came from a railroad way station in Sacramento Canyon, just above the dam site.

Reclamation began initial exploration of the Kennett (Shasta) Dam site in December 1935.

Trinity Division

The Federal Power Commission investigated developing the Trinity River for hydroelectric power in 1924, blazing the trail for its eventual inclusion in the Central Valley Project. California adopted the Power Commission's plan for its State Water Plan in the early 1930s. Reclamation began feasibility investigations in 1942, but California dropped Trinity River from the state plan in 1945. Undeterred, in 1950, Reclamation started survey work on the Trinity River Division to locate tunnel routes, powerplants, and diversion sites on the Trinity River and Clear Creek. The planned division would transfer water from the Trinity River, through the Trinity Mountains to the Sacramento River Basin.

Authorization

Authorization of the Central Valley Project (CVP) in 1935 created the project's initial three divisions, including the Shasta Division. The President approved the Central Valley Project on December 2, 1935. On March 25, 1936, the United States and the California Water Project Authority executed a cooperative agreement to coordinate the CVP and the California State Water Project. Congress re-authorized the Project in the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1937.

On January 2, 1953, the Trinity River Division received authorization as part of the CVP. Congress re-authorized the division in 1955, and President Dwight D. Eisenhower gave the Division his approval.

The Shasta and Trinity River Divisions were authorized by Public Law 386, 84^th Congress, 1^st Session, on August 12, 1955.

Division Operation

The Shasta Division operates as probably the least complex division in the Central Valley Project. Shasta Dam stores Sacramento River water for releases to the south. The dam  provides a flood control barrier on the river to protect inhabited areas downstream. When Shasta Powerplant is in operation, it uses a portion of water releases for hydroelectric power generation. Keswick Dam acts as Shasta Dam's afterbay, stabilizing the erratic flow of water released through Shasta Powerplant. Keswick Reservoir captures water diverted from the Trinity River through the Trinity River Division. Keswick Powerplant uses Sacramento River water and diverted Trinity River water to generate hydroelectric power.

Recent Developments at Shasta Diversion

Temperature Control Device

To protect salmon, Shasta Dam operators had to release cool water from Shasta Lake through low-level river outlets which bypassed the power plant. Each year, this cost Reclamation and CVP power contractors millions of dollars in lost power revenue.

To meet water temperature objectives for salmon recovery efforts in the Sacramento River below Shasta Dam, Reclamation built a temperature control device (TCD)  in 1997.  This "fish-friendly" device provides flexibility to manage Shasta Dam operations for both salmon protection and recovery and hydroelectric power production.

The TCD, a steel structure as tall as the Washington Monument, is now an operating feature of Shasta Dam.  It cost $80 million to design and construct. This 8,000 ton, 300-foot tall steel frame structure is supported on the upstream face of the dam (figure 1). A series of gates open and close to take water from various levels of the reservoir (figure 2).  In the summer months, water temperatures in Shasta Lake can vary from 80 EF near the surface and 45E F near the bottom.  The TCD allows project operators to open a combination of gates which access water with the temperature needed to deliver 56 EF water to the Sacramento River.

In 1999, Reclamation completed an Appraisal Assessment to make a preliminary determination of the technical feasibility associated with a range of enlargement options, including their corresponding costs and benefits.  Reclamation is continuing to investigate options.

Benefits

Salinity Control

One of Shasta´s purposes is to "protect the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta from intrusion of saline ocean water."

Flood Control

Shasta Dam stores flood waters to prevent flooding, and through controlled releases, supplies irrigation water downstream. Prior to construction of Shasta, floods frequently ravaged the Sacramento Valley, including the State capital. Reclamation uses flood control regulations prescribed by the Corps of Engineers for Shasta's operations, as per an agreement between the two entities.

Shasta has prevented over 5 billion dollars in flood damages.

Power

Shasta Powerplant has the capacity to generate 676,000 kilowatts of electricity when at full operation. Keswick Powerplant adds another 117,000 kilowatts of power. Keswick Dam acts as an afterbay for Shasta Dam, stabilizing the erratic flow of water from the larger dam's powerplant.

The Trinity Division´s total power capacity is 503,250 kilowatts.

Fish

Early on, Reclamation's project policy involved maintaining a minimum flow of 3,000 cubic feet per second below Keswick Dam in the interest of fish conservation.  Regulated fish flows provide a stablized habitat on the Sacramento River.  These flows provide temperature regulation and adequate water to maintain optimum conditions for spawning and to avoid stranding salmon fry.

Keswick Dam has fish-trapping facilities that operate in conjunction with the Coleman Fish Hatchery on Battle Creek, 25 miles downstream on the Sacramento River.  Salmon and other migratory fish are trapped as they reach the dam and are then transported to the Coleman Fish Hatchery, run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for spawning.  Some 20 million Chinook salmon and 600,000 steelhead are reared annually at the Coleman Fish Hatchery.

In February 1998, a winter-run Chinook salmon spawning and rearing facility, the Livingston Stone National Fish Hatchery, began operation at Shasta.  The facility was designed, constructed, and brought on-line in just 5 months through the cooperation of Reclamation, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and many individuals concerned about ensuring the survival of this endangered species.  Located a half mile below Shasta Dam, the 2,700 square-foot facility features a gravity-feed water supply system using Sacramento River water from the dam's penstocks.  Use of this water is important to ensuring successful imprinting of the artificially-spawned fish on Sacramento River water so that they will return to spawn at their natural spawning grounds.  Development of the facility also reflected the strong support of fishery, farming, urban, and other interests in protecting and preserving the winter-run.

Irrigation

Water from the Shasta Division supplemented irrigation for the surrounding area. The agricultural lands in the Shasta Division produce a large variety of crops.  In 1990, these crops were valued at over $256 million. Supplemental irrigation water is provided for about 460,000 acres of cropland.

Trinity River water is combined with Sacramento River water above Keswick Dam to provide irrigation services to lands in Shasta County, the Delta-Mendota Canal service area, the San Luis Unit, and other areas of the Central Valley Project.

Recreation

Shasta National Recreation Area - Managed by the U.S. Forest Service under agreement with Reclamation.  Shasta Reservoir is the largest in California with 370 miles of shoreline, and it is located about 10 miles north of Redding on the Sacramento River.  Includes boating, biking, fishing (16 varieties including sturgeon, trout, bass, catfish, crappie, and bluegill), camping, educational programs, hiking, hunting, picnicking, water sports, groceries/supplies, and lodging. Reclamation´s Mid-Pacific Regional Office offers tours of Shasta Dam.

Keswick Reservoir - 9 miles downriver from Shasta Dam.  Offers fishing and boating.

Shasta-Trinity National Forests - Located along I-5 in central northern California, home to Mt. Shasta (14,161 feet in elevation), Castle Crags, and the Trinity Alps.  The forests cover 2.5 million acres at the headwaters of the Sacramento River valley.  Includes auto touring, biking, boating, cultural or historic sites, camping, educational programs, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, hunting, off highway vehicles, wildlife viewing, water sports, picnicking, restaurants/snack bars, visitor center, wilderness area, and winter sports.

Trinity Lake - A snowmelt reservoir at the 2,387-foot elevation 18 miles northeast of Weaverville in Trinity County.  It is managed by the U.S. Forest Service under agreement with Reclamation.  It has 26 square miles (16,500 acres) of surface water area and 145 miles of shoreline.  Includes biking, boating, camping, fishing (salmon, trout, and bass), hiking, hunting, picnicking, water sports, and winter sports. The Trinity Fish Facility is open to the public.

Lewiston National Recreation Area - 7 miles downstream from Trinity Dam on the Trinity River.  Includes boating, camping, fishing (rainbow trout, German brown trout), hiking, hunting, picnicking, water sports, lodging, groceries/supplies, and lodging.

Whiskeytown-Shasta-Trinity National Recreation Area - Whiskeytown Reservoir, administered by the National Park Service, includes outdoor recreational opportunities and the remains of buildings built during the Gold Rush.  Includes boating, camping, educational programs, fishing, hiking, horseback riding, water sports, hunting, picnicking, visitor center, groceries/supplies, and restaurant/snack bar.

Red Bluff Diversion Dam and Reservoir - A seasonal lake, May 16 through September 14, Lake Red Bluff is a cold water fishery for trout, steelhead, and salmon.  Includes biking, boating, camping, fishing, hiking, lodging, picnicking, water sports, and lodging.

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