Lago Caonillas at Damsite - 50026140
USGS crew
preparing for a bathymetric survey at Lago Caonillas. Photo by
Ramon Carrasquillo, USGS. |
Lago
Caonillas is located in the municipio of Utuado, and was
constructed in 1948 by the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority
(PREPA).
The main purpose of the reservoir was to generate
hydroelectricity for the people living around the area.
The reservoir has a drainage area of 50.4 square miles (131
square kilometers). Originally it had a water
storage capacity of 45,124 acre-feet (55.7 million cubic feet),
but by 2000 the capacity had been reduced by sediment infilling
to 34,268 acre-feet (42.7 million cubic feet). |
Real-Time Resevoir Level
Real-time
resevoir level graph updated hourly with the exception of
emergency transmissions which are at 5 minute intervals. To view
real-time data, follow the link below.
Lago
Caonillas at Damsite - 50026140 |
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Arecibo Basin Map
Click
on  in the map for combined
real-time reservoir and rainfall information.
 |
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During 1995, water from the
reservoir was used to generate about 14 gigawatt-hours of
electricity, using about 23 million gallons per day(87 million
liters per day) of in-stream freshwater use. An in-stream
water use is water that is used within the stream channel for
such purpose as hydroelectric, power generation, navigation,
fish propagation, and recreation
Lago Caonillas will be an
important source of potable water as part of the Superaqueduct
system. The Superaqueduct system will capture water from
Caonillas and Dos Bocas reservoirs and transport it eastward
along the northern coast to the San Juan area. The
pipeline system is expected to supply 100 million gallons per
day (379 million liters per day)of water to the San Juan
metropolitan area, and to about fifteen communities along the
pipeline system. The Superaqueduct system will be
supplying potable water to about 1,300,000 people living in the
north coast region of Puerto Rico. |
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The Superaqueduct
system includes the construction of a 72-inch (1.8 meter)
diameter high pressure pipeline; a 300-million gallon (1,136
million liter) reservoir; a water filtration plant in Arecibo
that is expected to produce 100 million gallons per day ( 379
million liters per day); two 10-million gallon (38 million
liter) storage tanks in Arecibo; and two smaller connectors.
The U.S. Geological
Survey, in cooperation with PREPA and the Puerto Rico Aqueduct
and Sewage Authority (PRASA), has produced a number of reports
regarding effects of sediment infilling on storage capacity of
Lago Caonillas, including:
Soler-López,
L.R., 2001, "Sedimentation survey of Lago
Caonillas, Puerto Rico, February 2000": U.S.
Geological Survey Water-Resources Investigations, Report
01-4043, 25 p., 1 pl.
In addition,
the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with local government agencies,
has produced a number of reports regarding the effects of sediment infilling on the storage capacity of
principle water-supply reservoirs of Puerto Rico. The results of
these surveys are summarized in "Sedimentation survey
results of the principal water supply reservoirs of Puerto Rico,"
These
reports can be purchased at a nominal cost by contacting Information Desk at the U.S. Geological Survey, GSA Center, 651 Federal
Drive, Suite 400-15, Guaynabo, PR 00965, 787-749-4346 ext. 296.
Please contact Water-Use Information, 787-749-4346
ext. 259, if you have other questions regarding water supply in Puerto
Rico.
The
table below shows the relationship between reservoir level and
available water. This information is presented in graphical format
in the figure above. Note that an acre-foot is a volume of water
that would cover an acre (43,560 square feet) to a depth of 1
foot. |
Lago Caonillas
- 50026140 |
Reservoir elevation in |
Volume in |
| meters |
feet |
acre-ft |
million cubic
meters |
| 252 |
826 |
34,265 |
42.3 |
| 251 |
823 |
32,165 |
39.7 |
| 250 |
819 |
30,202 |
37.3 |
| 249 |
816 |
28,392 |
35.0 |
| 248 |
813 |
26,644 |
32.9 |
| 247 |
810 |
24,995 |
30.8 |
| 246 |
806 |
23,405 |
28.9 |
| 245 |
803 |
21,890 |
27.0 |
| 244 |
800 |
20,424 |
25.2 |
| 243 |
796 |
19,036 |
23.5 |
| 242 |
793 |
17,706 |
21.8 |
| 241 |
790 |
16,475 |
20.3 |
| 240 |
787 |
15,309 |
18.9 |
| 239 |
783 |
14,228 |
17.6 |
| 238 |
780 |
13,195 |
16.3 |
| 237 |
777 |
12,238 |
15.1 |
| 236 |
773 |
11,322 |
14.0 |
| 235 |
770 |
10,460 |
12.9 |
| 234 |
767 |
9,623 |
11.9 |
| 233 |
764 |
8,844 |
10.9 |
| 232 |
760 |
8,092 |
9.98 |
| 231 |
757 |
7,396 |
9.12 |
| 230 |
754 |
6,731 |
8.30 |
| 229 |
751 |
6,098 |
7.52 |
| 228 |
747 |
5,496 |
6.78 |
| 227 |
744 |
4,928 |
6.08 |
| 226 |
741 |
4,386 |
5.41 |
| 225 |
737 |
3,865 |
4.77 |
| 224 |
734 |
3,361 |
4.15 |
| 223 |
731 |
2,877 |
3.55 |
| 222 |
728 |
2,417 |
2.98 |
| 221 |
724 |
1,983 |
2.45 |
| 220 |
721 |
1,576 |
1.94 |
| 219 |
718 |
1,222 |
1.51 |
| 218 |
714 |
906 |
1.12 |
| 217 |
711 |
645 |
0.796 |
| 216 |
708 |
412 |
0.508 |
| 215 |
705 |
218 |
0.268 |
| 214 |
701 |
53.5 |
0.066 |
| 213 |
698 |
19.8 |
0.024 |
| 212 |
695 |
0.00 |
0.00 |
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Upstream face of Caonillas
Reservoir Dam. Photo from USGS archive. |
Upstream
view of Lago Caonillas
near Hwy 140. Photo from USGS archive. |
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
