Spring Creek Reservoir (California)
Encyclopedia
The Spring Creek Reservoir is the artificial lake
created by the construction of the Spring Creek Dam
across Spring Creek in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
of Shasta County, California
, adjacent to Keswick
.
The reservoir is used mostly for flood control storage, and is rarely filled to its 5870 acre.ft capacity. During the dry season, water from Spring Creek pools in a small, stagnant pond retained behind the dam, depositing contaminated sediment and acidic mine waste in the reservoir space. When flows from the Shasta Dam
, upstream on the Sacramento River
, are sufficient to flush contaminated water away, water held in the reservoir is released through the outlet works into the Keswick Reservoir and the Sacramento River. Despite this operation strategy, the reservoir was eventually deemed inadequate for the watershed, and can be filled to capacity by a single heavy storm event. Uncontrollable spills frequently poured into the Sacramento River during floods, through the crest spillway of the dam, which lacks gates. As a result, numerous fish kill
s have occurred during these sudden releases of contaminants, a major one of which was in 1969. Due to this consistent acid pollution from the reservoir, most large fish spawn downstream of Red Bluff Diversion Dam, a dam also on the Sacramento River near Red Bluff, California
.
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
created by the construction of the Spring Creek Dam
Spring Creek Dam
The Spring Creek Debris Dam is an earthfill dam on Spring Creek, a tributary of the Sacramento River, in Shasta County in the U.S. state of California. Completed in 1963, the dam, maintained by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, serves primarily to collect severe acid mine drainage stemming from the...
across Spring Creek in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest
Shasta-Trinity National Forest
The Shasta-Trinity National Forest is a federally designated forest in northern California, USA. It is the largest National Forest in California and is managed by the United States Forest Service. The 2.2-million acre forest encompasses five wilderness areas, hundreds of mountain lakes and of...
of Shasta County, California
Shasta County, California
Shasta County is a county located in the northern portion of the U.S. state of California. The county occupies the northern reaches of the Sacramento Valley, with portions extending into the southern reaches of the Cascade Range. As of the 2010 census, the population was 177,223, up from 163,256...
, adjacent to Keswick
Keswick, California
Keswick is a census-designated place in Shasta County, California. Keswick sits at an elevation of . The 2010 United States census reported Keswick's population was 451.-Geography:...
.
The reservoir is used mostly for flood control storage, and is rarely filled to its 5870 acre.ft capacity. During the dry season, water from Spring Creek pools in a small, stagnant pond retained behind the dam, depositing contaminated sediment and acidic mine waste in the reservoir space. When flows from the Shasta Dam
Shasta Dam
Shasta Dam is an arch dam across the Sacramento River in the northern part of the U.S. state of California, at the north end of the Sacramento Valley. The dam mainly serves long-term water storage and flood control in its reservoir, Shasta Lake, and also generates hydroelectric power...
, upstream on the Sacramento River
Sacramento River
The Sacramento River is an important watercourse of Northern and Central California in the United States. The largest river in California, it rises on the eastern slopes of the Klamath Mountains, and after a journey south of over , empties into Suisun Bay, an arm of the San Francisco Bay, and...
, are sufficient to flush contaminated water away, water held in the reservoir is released through the outlet works into the Keswick Reservoir and the Sacramento River. Despite this operation strategy, the reservoir was eventually deemed inadequate for the watershed, and can be filled to capacity by a single heavy storm event. Uncontrollable spills frequently poured into the Sacramento River during floods, through the crest spillway of the dam, which lacks gates. As a result, numerous fish kill
Fish kill
The term fish kill, known also as fish die-off and as fish mortality, is a localized die-off of fish populations which may also be associated with more generalised mortality of aquatic life...
s have occurred during these sudden releases of contaminants, a major one of which was in 1969. Due to this consistent acid pollution from the reservoir, most large fish spawn downstream of Red Bluff Diversion Dam, a dam also on the Sacramento River near Red Bluff, California
Red Bluff, California
Red Bluff is a city in and the county seat of Tehama County, California, United States. The population was 14,076 at the 2010 census, up from 13,147 at the 2000 census....
.