O'Neill Dam

O'Neill Dam
O'Neill Forebay and Dam as seen from left bank.
Official name	O'Neill Dam
Location	Merced County, California
Coordinates	37°04′50″N 121°02′50″W / 37.0805°N 121.0472°W / 37.0805; -121.0472
Construction began	1963
Opening date	1967
Dam and spillways
Height	87.5 ft (26.7 m)
Length	14,300 ft (4,400 m)
Base width	124 ft (38 m)
Impounds	San Luis Creek
Reservoir
Creates	O'Neill Forebay
Capacity	56,400 acre·ft (69,600,000 m3)
Catchment area	18 sq mi (47 km2)
Surface area	2,250 acres (910 ha)
U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: O'Neill Dam

O'Neill Dam is an earthfill dam on San Luis Creek, 12 miles (19 km) west of Los Banos, California, on the eastern slopes of the Pacific Coast Ranges of Merced County. Forming the O'Neill Forebay, a forebay to the San Luis Reservoir, it is roughly 2.5 miles (4.0 km) downstream from the San Luis Dam.

Background

Built from 1963 to 1967, the dam is an earthfill and rockfill construction stretching over three miles (5 km) across the valley of San Luis Creek. A morning-glory type spillway lies at the left bank of the reservoir. At 87.5 feet (26.7 m) high, with a maximum reservoir depth of 57 feet (17 m), the crest of the dam is 14,300 feet (4,400 m) long, at an elevation of 223 feet (68 m). The spillway is, as mentioned before, a morning-glory (inverted bell) design, capacity 3,250 cubic feet (92 m³) per second, and with a circumference of 641.5 feet (195.5 m).

Reservoir

Main article: O'Neill Forebay

The O'Neill Forebay reservoir is fed by releases from the San Luis Dam as well as from the Delta–Mendota Canal. Water from the Delta–Mendota Canal is lifted a vertical distance of 8 feet (2.4 m) into a channel running 2,200 feet (670 m) into the forebay.^[1] The peak inflow to the forebay is 15,600 cubic feet (440 m³) per second, from both the San Luis Dam and the Delta–Mendota Canal. Drainage area of the reservoir downstream of the San Luis Dam is only 18 acres (0.073 km²). The O'Neill Pumping-Generating Plant produces 28 megawatts.^[1] Irregular water releases from the San Luis Dam and William R. Gianelli Powerplant are collected in the reservoir of the O'Neill Dam, which has a capacity of 56,400 acre feet (69,600,000 m³).

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Bureau of Reclamation (2009). "O'Neill Dam". Projects and Facilities Database. U.S. Department of the Interior. http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Facility.jsp?fac_Name=O%60Neill+Dam. Retrieved 2009-04-28. 

• Department of Water Resources (2009). "Station Meta Data: O'Neill Forebay (ONF)". California Data Exchange Center. State of California. http://cdec.water.ca.gov/cgi-progs/profile?s=ONF&type=dam. Retrieved 2009-04-01. 

External links

• "O'Neill Forebay". Geographic Names Information System, U.S. Geological Survey. 19-Jan-1981. http://geonames.usgs.gov/pls/gnispublic/f?p=gnispq:3:::NO::P3_FID:254988. Retrieved 2009-06-15.