Carbon Canyon Dam
Encyclopedia
Carbon Canyon Dam is a dam at the northern edge of Orange County, California
. The dam is approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the city of Brea
and approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) north of the city of Santa Ana
(pl. 1-1). The drainage area above the dam is 19.3 square miles (50 km²) and is encompassed entirely within the Puente and Chino Hills (pl.2-1). Carbon Canyon Creek flows in a generally southwesterly direction onto the coastal Orange County Plain, joins Coyote Creek
, and then flows into the San Gabriel River
.
. Miller Stilling Basin, the most upstream of the facilities, is the location point from which flow from Carbon Canyon Channel is diverted into Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel or Carbon Creek Channel. During periods of low flow, water is directed into the Diversion Channel, which flows into the lower Santa Ana River Channel and its attendant groundwater recharge facilities. Higher flows which fill Miller Basin are directed into Carbon Creek Channel and flow west into the next series of retarding basins on their way to the San Gabriel River Channel.
. The first of these, the Flood Control Act of 1936
(Public Law 738, 74th Congress, H.R. 8455, approved 22 June 1936), provided in part for the construction of reservoirs and related flood-control works for the protection of metropolitan Orange County, California. The second (Public Law 761, 75th Congress, approved 28 June 1938), amended the 1936 Act by providing for the acquisition by the United States
of land, easements, and right-of-way for dam and reservoir projects, channel improvements, and channel rectification for flood control
. The overall project was adopted in the Flood Control Act of 1936 on the basis of the 29 July 1935 report of the Orange County Flood Control District (OCFCD) in connection with an application for a grant under the Federal Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935.
and OCFCD discussed the plan of improvement. A comprehensive report on a plan for flood control in Orange County, California, was prepared by OCFCD in March 1955. This plan included Carbon Canyon Dam and Carbon Canyon Creek channel improvements. Design of the dam, and a length of improved channel immediately downstream of the dam, was performed by LAD, and presented in “General Design for Carbon Canyon Dam and Channel, Design Memorandum No. 2, Santa Ana River Basin (and Orange County)”, dated August 1957, submitted 21 February 1958, and approved with comments 17 April 1958. This memorandum included design of the dam, outlet works, spillway
, and a concrete-lined channel 4080 feet (1,243.6 m) in length (see para. 3-04a), as well as construction of drainage structures, relocation of two highways, modification of bridges, the removal of school buildings and residences, and the relocation of utilities.
Carbon Canyon Channel. Carbon Canyon Channel (also called Carbon Canyon Creek) Canyon Dam partway to Miller Basin Complex, an OCEMA facility at the terminus of Carbon Canyon Channel. The remainder of Carbon Canyon Channel from the end
of the LAD channel to Carbon Creek Channel has been partially improved, and is maintained by OCEMA. The Miller Basin Complex serves the functions of flood retarding basin, desilting basin, and stilling basin. At Miller Basin, Carbon Canyon Channel becomes Carbon Creek Channel. Miller Basin also serves to divide flow between Carbon Creek Channel (which flows to Coyote Creek and then the San Gabriel River) and Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel (which flows to the Santa Ana River). The channel capacities and configurations for Carbon Canyon Channel from Carbon Canyon Dam to Miller Basin are shown on plate 3-1.
At Miller Basin, the channel system divides into two channels: Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel, which flows south to the Santa Ana
River; and Carbon Creek Channel, which flows west into Coyote Creek and on to the San Gabriel River. The average gradient of Carbon Canyon Creek is about 117 feet per mile above the dam site. The average gradient of Carbon Canyon and Carbon Creek Channels is about 55 feet per mile from the dam to the juncture with Coyote Creek. Telegraph Canyon Creek, the major tributary in
the watershed above Carbon Canyon Dam, joins Carbon Canyon Creek within Carbon Canyon Reservoir.
3.5 miles (5.6 km) downstream of the dam at the confluence of Carbon Canyon Channel and Atwood Channel. It consists of a small stilling basin, retarding basin, desilting basin, and flow diversion structure. Flows entering Miller Basin Complex first run through the stilling basin, then into the desilting basin where a set of overflow weirs split flows between Carbon Canyon Diversion
Channel (diverting flows to the Santa Ana River) and the Miller Retarding Basin. The capacity of the stilling basin is 44 ac-ft, while the capacity of the retarding basin is 340 ac-ft. The weir
separating the stilling basin from the desilting basin is small and nearly covered by sediment and vegetation.
The desilting basin has two weirs which serve different purposes. The lowlevel weir at the south end of the basin acts to restrict and divert flows to the Santa Ana River via the Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel. This weir has a capacity of about 3200 ft3/s. There is also a weir at the west end of the desilting basin at a higher elevation above which flows enter Miller Retarding
Basin. The capacity of this weir is about 6000 ft3/s. There is also an emergency spillway at the west and which empties into a ditch. This ditch eventually leads back into Carbon Creek, which flows toward Coyote Creek. Thus inflow to Miller Basin may be, when necessary or desired, split between the Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel and Carbon Creek Channel, and passed into
the lower Santa Ana or San Gabriel Rivers, respectively. See plate 2-6 for a schematic of the flood retarding facilities downstream.
Orange County, California
Orange County is a county in the U.S. state of California. Its county seat is Santa Ana. As of the 2010 census, its population was 3,010,232, up from 2,846,293 at the 2000 census, making it the third most populous county in California, behind Los Angeles County and San Diego County...
. The dam is approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) east of the city of Brea
Brea, California
Brea is a city in Orange County, California. The population, as of the 2010 Census was 39,282.The city began as a center of crude oil production, was later propelled by citrus production, and is now an important retail center because of the large Brea Mall and the recently redeveloped Brea Downtown...
and approximately 12 miles (19.3 km) north of the city of Santa Ana
Santa Ana, California
Santa Ana is the county seat and second most populous city in Orange County, California, and with a population of 324,528 at the 2010 census, Santa Ana is the 57th-most populous city in the United States....
(pl. 1-1). The drainage area above the dam is 19.3 square miles (50 km²) and is encompassed entirely within the Puente and Chino Hills (pl.2-1). Carbon Canyon Creek flows in a generally southwesterly direction onto the coastal Orange County Plain, joins Coyote Creek
Coyote Creek
Coyote Creek is a river that flows through the Santa Clara Valley in California, United States.-History:Coyote Creek was originally named Arroyo del Coyote by Padre Pedro Font when the de Anza Expedition reached it on Sunday, March 31, 1776....
, and then flows into the San Gabriel River
San Gabriel River (California)
The San Gabriel River flows through southern Los Angeles County, California in the United States. Its main stem is about long, while its farthest tributaries extend almost altogether...
.
Related Control Facilities
OCEMA maintains a series of flood retarding basins along the Carbon Creek Channel downstream of Carbon Canyon Dam (pl.2-6). These basins are used to retard flood flows in the urbanized area downstream of Carbon Canyon Dam. The Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel serves to relay water from the Miller Basin Complex to the Santa Ana RiverSanta Ana River
The Santa Ana River is the largest river of Southern California in the United States. Its drainage basin spans four counties. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows past the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, before cutting through the northern tip of the Santa Ana Mountains and...
. Miller Stilling Basin, the most upstream of the facilities, is the location point from which flow from Carbon Canyon Channel is diverted into Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel or Carbon Creek Channel. During periods of low flow, water is directed into the Diversion Channel, which flows into the lower Santa Ana River Channel and its attendant groundwater recharge facilities. Higher flows which fill Miller Basin are directed into Carbon Creek Channel and flow west into the next series of retarding basins on their way to the San Gabriel River Channel.
Authorization
Carbon Canyon Dam and Channel was authorized pursuant to two acts of CongressUnited States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
. The first of these, the Flood Control Act of 1936
Flood Control Act of 1936
The Flood Control Act of 1936, , was an Act of the United States Congress signed into law by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on 22 June 1936. It authorized civil engineering projects such as dams, levees, dikes, and other flood control measures through the United States Army Corps of...
(Public Law 738, 74th Congress, H.R. 8455, approved 22 June 1936), provided in part for the construction of reservoirs and related flood-control works for the protection of metropolitan Orange County, California. The second (Public Law 761, 75th Congress, approved 28 June 1938), amended the 1936 Act by providing for the acquisition by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
of land, easements, and right-of-way for dam and reservoir projects, channel improvements, and channel rectification for flood control
Flood control
In communications, flood control is a feature of many communication protocols designed to prevent overwhelming of a destination receiver. Such controls can be implemented either in software or in hardware, and will often request that the message be resent after the receiver has finished...
. The overall project was adopted in the Flood Control Act of 1936 on the basis of the 29 July 1935 report of the Orange County Flood Control District (OCFCD) in connection with an application for a grant under the Federal Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935.
Planning and Design
Information generally pertaining to the dam was first presented in the OCFCD report mentioned above. In numerous subsequent conferences with LAD, the Orange County Board of SupervisorsOrange County Board of Supervisors
The Orange County Board of Supervisors is the five-member governing body of Orange County, California.-Membership:The Board consists of five Supervisors elected by districts to four-year terms by the citizens of Orange County...
and OCFCD discussed the plan of improvement. A comprehensive report on a plan for flood control in Orange County, California, was prepared by OCFCD in March 1955. This plan included Carbon Canyon Dam and Carbon Canyon Creek channel improvements. Design of the dam, and a length of improved channel immediately downstream of the dam, was performed by LAD, and presented in “General Design for Carbon Canyon Dam and Channel, Design Memorandum No. 2, Santa Ana River Basin (and Orange County)”, dated August 1957, submitted 21 February 1958, and approved with comments 17 April 1958. This memorandum included design of the dam, outlet works, spillway
Spillway
A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of flows from a dam or levee into a downstream area, typically being the river that was dammed. In the UK they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways release floods so that the water does not overtop and damage or even destroy...
, and a concrete-lined channel 4080 feet (1,243.6 m) in length (see para. 3-04a), as well as construction of drainage structures, relocation of two highways, modification of bridges, the removal of school buildings and residences, and the relocation of utilities.
Construction
Construction of Carbon Canyon Dam started in April 1959 under contract DA 04-353-CIVENG-59-144, with work completed and accepted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on 9 May 1961. Construction of the Corps project channel (para. 3-04a) started in April 1960 and was completed in May 1961. The project was constructed by Oberg Construction Company of Northridge, California.Related Projects
Plate 1-1 shows projects related to Carbon Canyon Dam.Carbon Canyon Channel. Carbon Canyon Channel (also called Carbon Canyon Creek) Canyon Dam partway to Miller Basin Complex, an OCEMA facility at the terminus of Carbon Canyon Channel. The remainder of Carbon Canyon Channel from the end
of the LAD channel to Carbon Creek Channel has been partially improved, and is maintained by OCEMA. The Miller Basin Complex serves the functions of flood retarding basin, desilting basin, and stilling basin. At Miller Basin, Carbon Canyon Channel becomes Carbon Creek Channel. Miller Basin also serves to divide flow between Carbon Creek Channel (which flows to Coyote Creek and then the San Gabriel River) and Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel (which flows to the Santa Ana River). The channel capacities and configurations for Carbon Canyon Channel from Carbon Canyon Dam to Miller Basin are shown on plate 3-1.
At Miller Basin, the channel system divides into two channels: Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel, which flows south to the Santa Ana
River; and Carbon Creek Channel, which flows west into Coyote Creek and on to the San Gabriel River. The average gradient of Carbon Canyon Creek is about 117 feet per mile above the dam site. The average gradient of Carbon Canyon and Carbon Creek Channels is about 55 feet per mile from the dam to the juncture with Coyote Creek. Telegraph Canyon Creek, the major tributary in
the watershed above Carbon Canyon Dam, joins Carbon Canyon Creek within Carbon Canyon Reservoir.
Downstream structures
Numerous flood retarding basins exist along Carbon Canyon Creek below Carbon Canyon Dam (pl. 2-6). These basins are Miller, Placentia, Raymond, and Gilbert, in downstream order. These basins are occasionally used to infiltrate water; however, their main purpose is to reduce floodflows in the area downstream from Carbon Canyon Dam. Miller Basin Complex is approximately3.5 miles (5.6 km) downstream of the dam at the confluence of Carbon Canyon Channel and Atwood Channel. It consists of a small stilling basin, retarding basin, desilting basin, and flow diversion structure. Flows entering Miller Basin Complex first run through the stilling basin, then into the desilting basin where a set of overflow weirs split flows between Carbon Canyon Diversion
Channel (diverting flows to the Santa Ana River) and the Miller Retarding Basin. The capacity of the stilling basin is 44 ac-ft, while the capacity of the retarding basin is 340 ac-ft. The weir
Weir
A weir is a small overflow dam used to alter the flow characteristics of a river or stream. In most cases weirs take the form of a barrier across the river that causes water to pool behind the structure , but allows water to flow over the top...
separating the stilling basin from the desilting basin is small and nearly covered by sediment and vegetation.
The desilting basin has two weirs which serve different purposes. The lowlevel weir at the south end of the basin acts to restrict and divert flows to the Santa Ana River via the Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel. This weir has a capacity of about 3200 ft3/s. There is also a weir at the west end of the desilting basin at a higher elevation above which flows enter Miller Retarding
Basin. The capacity of this weir is about 6000 ft3/s. There is also an emergency spillway at the west and which empties into a ditch. This ditch eventually leads back into Carbon Creek, which flows toward Coyote Creek. Thus inflow to Miller Basin may be, when necessary or desired, split between the Carbon Canyon Diversion Channel and Carbon Creek Channel, and passed into
the lower Santa Ana or San Gabriel Rivers, respectively. See plate 2-6 for a schematic of the flood retarding facilities downstream.
Flood control
The plan for controlling floods on Carbon Canyon Creek below Carbon Canyon Dam is presented in this section. The objective of the water control plan is to maximize flood control benefits. Project releases will be regulated to protect downstream communities and to avoid spillway flow. Although releases from Carbon Canyon Dam could affect downstream discharges in Coyote Creek and the Santa Ana River, the dam is not usually regulated as part of these systems. Release rates from the dam are not to exceed the downstream capacity of Carbon Canyon Channel between the outlet works and Golden Avenue.See also
- FloodgateFloodgateFloodgates are adjustable gates used to control water flow in flood barriers, reservoir, river, stream, or levee systems. They may be designed to set spillway crest heights in dams, to adjust flow rates in sluices and canals, or they may be designed to stop water flow entirely as part of a levee or...
- List of reservoirs and dams in California
- List of largest dams
- Rivers of California
- List of rivers of California