Shasta Dam

Shasta Dam:

Shasta Dam
Information contributed by Elizabeth Dawson from a report dated December 5, 1994.

Shasta Data Links
    CDEC Station-Current Sensor Data
    USGS Hydrologic Data Report
                - 1994
                - 1995

Other Related Links

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Photographs

Front of Shasta Dam

Shasta Dam and Lake during drought

Shasta Dam General Information

    Dam Location/Directions
    Ownership/Operators
    Technical Contact
    Tour Information

Dam Location/Directions
Shasta Dam is located on the Sacramento River, twelve miles above Redding, CA and is five miles downstream from the confluence of the Pit and Sacramento Rivers. The coordinates of the dam are 40° 43.1' North Latitude and 122° 25.2' West Longitude.

To get to Shasta Dam, take Interstate Five past Redding to Central Valley. Then take Highway 151 to Shasta Dam

Ownership/Operators
Shasta Dam is currently owned and operated by the United States Bureau of Reclamation.

Technical Contact
Contact Bill Gibbins (530)275-1554.

Tour information
For a tour contact Bill Gibbins at (530)275-1554. Tours are offered daily. For the winter season on weekends the schedule is from 10 am to 3 pm on the hour, and weekdays at 10 am, 12 pm, 2 pm, and 3:30 pm.

Shasta Dam Design and Construction:

    Construction type
    Construction date
    Dam

Spillway
Outlet
Cross Section
Reservoir

Construction type

curved concrete gravity dam

Construction date

Construction began in 1938 and was completed in 1944.

Dam

Crest elevation: 1077.5 MSL
Height above foundation: 602 ft
Crest Length 3460 ft
Freeboard: 6.9 ft
Crest Width: 30 ft
Maximum Thickness: 883 ft
Total volume of embankment: 8,430,000 cu. yd.

Spillway

Type 18 outlet conduits 102 in. in diameter
Crest elevation
Crest length
Discharge Capacity 186,000 cfs

Outlet

Intake structure
Emergency gates
Control gates type
Maximum outlet capacity

Cross-Section

General Plan and Sections
Outlet Works Plan and Sections
Outlet Works-Gate Chamber
Outlet Works Gate Chamber Ventilating System

Reservoir

Storage capacities

minimum pool
flood control
gross pool
spillway design flood pool
maximum capacity 4,552,000 acre-feet

Shasta Dam Current Uses and Operations:

Reservoir Background
Reservoir Storage/Flood Control
Water Deliveries
Water Transfers
Fisheries Flows
Recent operating challenges
Concerns for future operations

Reservoir Background
Shasta Dam is the main feature of the Central Valley Project, whose purpose is designed to conserve the waters of the valley while providing flood control, irrigation, power generation, navigation and river regulation, salinity control in the delta, and domestic water supply. The principal rivers that flow into Shasta Lake are the Sacramento, the Pit, and the McCloud. The water from these rivers accumulate from a 6,665 square mile drainage area above the dam.

Reservoir Storage/Flood Control

Water Deliveries

Water Transfers

Fisheries Flows

Recent operating challenges
The main goal of the operational plans is the upkeep of the facilities in conjunction with environmental concerns and regulations. These concerns are mainly the survival of the winter-run Chinook Salmon. The winter-run Salmon have declined from a mean of 86,000 fish during the period of 1967-69 to 2,400 fish during the period of 1982-87 and to 500 fish in 1989-90. The Salmon are now protected under Federal and State Endangered Species Acts. Temperature is an important environmental variable affecting fish growth. Thus, in 1993 a Temperature Control Device (TDC) was proposed to be located on the face of the dam at the penstock intake. This TDC would improve the temperature of the water by releasing water from different levels of the dam, then go into the power house to generate electricity.

Concerns for future operations

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