New Hogan Lake

New Hogan Lake

Aerial view of lake and dam. View to the northeast
Location Sierra Nevada Mountains
Calaveras County, California
Coordinates 38°09′03″N 120°48′46″W / 38.1507°N 120.8129°W / 38.1507; -120.8129Coordinates: 38°09′03″N 120°48′46″W / 38.1507°N 120.8129°W / 38.1507; -120.8129
Lake type Reservoir
Primary inflows Calaveras River
Primary outflows Calaveras River
Catchment area 363 square miles (940 km2)[1]
Basin countries United States
Max. length 3 miles (4.8 km)
Max. width 2 miles (3.2 km)
Surface area 4,410 acres (1,780 ha)[1]
Water volume 317,000 acre feet (391,000,000 m3)[1]
Surface elevation 666 feet (203 m)
References "New Hogan Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 

New Hogan Lake is an artificial lake in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada in Calaveras County, California, about 30 miles (48.3 km) northeast of Stockton. It is formed by New Hogan Dam on the Calaveras River, whose North and South forks combine just upstream of the lake, and has a capacity of 317,000 acre·ft (391,000,000 m3). The earth-fill dam, completed in 1963, is 210 feet (64.0 m) high from the crest of the dam to the original streambed. The reservoir was first filled in 1965. There is a small hydroelectric plant at its base. It is owned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and provides flood protection, drinking water, electricity and water for irrigation. There is also recreation available, such as boating, fishing, water skiing and camping.

History

New Hogan Lake and New Hogan Dam are the successors of the original Hogan Lake and Hogan Dam. The dam was constructed as a response to flooding of the Calaveras River which caused problems for the City of Stockton, California. It was and is still the only dam on the Calaveras River.[2] The original Hogan dam was deemed ineffective when floods reoccurred in the 1950s. These problems with flooding led to the construction of the New Hogan Dam and New Hogan Lake by the Army Corps of Engineers who manage the lake for flood control and recreational purposes.[2] The new Lake and Dam were built between 1960 and 1963 and now supply irrigation and drinking water to the Calaveras County Water District and Stockton East Water District, in addition to serving as a recreational area. The New Hogan Dam also backs up supplies necessary for the New Hogan Powerhouse generation facilities, a 3.15 MW capacity facility operating under Federal Energy Regulation Commission project license number 2903.

Drought Impacts

The recent drought (2014-2015) has had a major impact on New Hogan Lake. In January 2013 New Hogan Lake was about half full and the water steadily decreased to about one third full in January 2014 and 16% full in January 2015 [3] It is one of the hardest hit reservoirs in Northern California with record lows recorded in September 2014 when the lake was 14% full, which was the lowest it had been since January 1995.[4] Significant rain events in February 2015 supplied New Hogan with a large amount of water but did not help the reservoir get back to capacity [5]

The drought has had some major impacts on district the lake serves as well. In response to the record drought levels in 2015, the Stockton East Water District warned farmers that they may not receive water. The utility deemed that there will be enough water for the City of Stockton with help from the New Melones Dam but not enough for all farmers. Due to low levels, notices were distributed about giving priority to farmers with riparian rights[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dams Owned and Operated by Federal Agencies" (PDF). Retrieved July 2, 2013.
  2. 1 2 Manna, Sal. "New Hogan Reservoir". Calaveras History. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  3. ↑ Nichols, Dana (3 February 2015). "Drought intensified in January". Calaveras Enterprise. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Breitler, Alex (30 September 2014). "Reservoirs at 19-year low". Recordnet. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  5. ↑ Breitler, Alex (21 February 2015). "Drought lingers, perhaps intensifies in 2015". Recordnet. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  6. ↑ Breitler, Alex (4 February 2015). "Stockton East: Some farmers might receive no water in 2015". Recordnet. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
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