Prado Reservoir
Prado Dam and Prado Reservoir provide flood control and water conservation. Their operation is coordinated with the facilities upstream. Prado Reservoir is not a storage reservoir, so water is released as quickly as possible while still allowing for groundwater recharge. When the water level reaches the top of the buffer pool, whose size changes depending on time of year, water is released at the maximum rate that the downstream channel will safely allow. As of 2006, the capacity of the channel is 5,000 cubic feet (140 m) per second (140 m³/s), but channelization will eventually increase the capacity to 30,000 cubic feet (850 m) per second (850 m³/s). During flood season, the buffer pool only has a capacity of 8,437 acre-feet (10,407,000 m), while outside of flood season, the capacity increases to 25,760 acre-feet (31,770,000 m). Since this is 2.3 and 7.1 percent of the reservoir's total capacity, respectively, the reservoir is usually fairly empty.
See also
- List of dams and reservoirs in California
- List of lakes in California
- List of largest reservoirs of California
References
- United States Army Corps of Engineers - Prado Dam
- United States Army Corps of Engineers - Prado Dam Brochure