Overview
B.F. Sisk Dam
The B.F. Sisk Dam is a 300-foot-high zoned compacted earthfill embankment located on the west side of California's Central Valley approximately 12 miles west of Los Banos, California. The dam is over 3 ½ miles long and impounds San Luis Reservoir which has a total capacity of over 2 million acre-feet.
The dam was built between 1963 and 1967 to provide supplemental irrigation water storage for the Federal Central Valley Project and municipal and industrial water for the California State Water Project.
Water is lifted into the reservoir for storage by the Gianelli Pumping – Generating Plant from the California Aqueduct and from the Delta-Mendota Canal via O’Neill Forebay.
B.F. Sisk Dam (also known as San Luis Dam) is owned by the Bureau of Reclamation and operated by the California Department of Water Resources. Reservoir storage space is allotted 55 percent State and 45 percent Federal.
Recreational Opportunities
General
Project | Central Valley |
Longitude | -121.0750 |
Watercourse | San Luis Creek |
Reservoir | San Luis |
Original Construction | 1963-1967 |
National ID Number | CA10183 |
Latitude | 37.0583 |
Dimensions
Crest Elevation | 554.0 ft |
Structural Height | 382.0 ft |
Hydraulic Height (Normal Operating Depth at Dam) | 303.0 ft |
Crest Length | 18600.0 ft |
Top of Active Conservation Pool (Elevation) | 544.0 ft |
Top of Inactive Conservation Pool (Elevation) | 326.0 ft |
Spillway Crest Elevation | 544.0 ft |
Top of Dead Storage Pool (Elevation) | 273.0 ft |
Streambed at Dam Axis | 241.0 ft |
Hydraulics & Hydrology
Normal Water Surface Elevation | 544.0 ft |
Spillway Capacity at Elevation | 1030 cfs at 545.8 ft |
Auxiliary Spillway | No |
Outlet Works Capacity at Elevation | 13120 cfs at 544.0 ft |
Drainage Area | 82.6 sq mi |
Hydrometeorological Report (HMR) | HMR 36 |
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