Talk:List of reservoirs and dams in California

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[edit] Expansion

I've compiled a list of dams that are notable for their height, volume, reservoir capacity, significant hydroelectricity production, importance or other characteristic. Dams already listed have been removed. This is just a suggestion for additions. Kjkolb 06:26, August 12, 2005 (UTC)

• Big Creek Dams
• Bowman Spaulding Diversion Dam
• Butt Valley Dam
• Haiwee Dam
• Ice House Dam
• Imperial Dam (All-American Canal)
• Kerchkhoff Diversion Dam
• Keswick Dam
• Lewiston Dam
• Loon Lake Dam
• Modesto Dam
• Nimbus Dam
• O'Neill Dam
• Pit Dams 1-7
• Senator Wash Dam
• Sly Park Dam
• Spring Creek Debris Dam
• Thermalito Dam
• Turlock Dam

Wikified the above list. --ChrisRuvolo (t) 17:55, 12 August 2005 (UTC)

Thanks, Chris

I didn't wikify it because I wasn't certain about the names (for example, Shaver Lake Dam is also called Shaver Dam), but that can be fixed later. Kjkolb 07:10, August 13, 2005 (UTC)

Note to others who add dams: to convert acre-feet to million meters cubed, multiply by 0.001233479.

I added all the dams on the cdlib list and removed them from the list above. Kjkolb 06:40, August 17, 2005 (UTC)

There's a problem with adding more dams. The cdlib uses an unusual height definition, so figures from other sources won't match. It's not a minor difference, either. As an extreme example, Parker Dam is listed by other sources as 320 feet high, but cdlib has it at 75 feet high. Kjkolb 10:42, August 17, 2005 (UTC)

Nice job adding the rest of the dams from cdlib's list. Thats a lot of work. BTW, a useful tool to convert between units is google's calculator. Try something like this query. How is height calculated from the other sources? Thanks. --ChrisRuvolo (t) 20:38, 17 August 2005 (UTC)

Thanks, it took a long time. I've been using this conversion application for the height, but it doesn't do the acre-feet to cubic meters conversion. I'll try Google. I'm not sure how a dam's height is usually calculated, but the source we've been using only counts down to the streambed on the downstream side of the dam. The USBR measures from the top of the dam to the foundation, which may be buried deep beneath the streambed. Other sources don't say how they measure, but they don't match the numbers from this source. I'll do some more research.

There's currently 106 dams in the list and another 50 notable dams could probably be listed. There's still some above that haven't been listed. I've been removing them as I go. If others want to contribute, a help would be to find the height (measured from the top of the dam to the streambed) for dams not yet listed. Don't bother looking for dams less than 120 feet high and reservoirs less than 20,000 acre-feet, unless they are significant for other reasons. I already have the heights for most Army Corps of Engineers dams, though. Another help would be to add articles on the dams, rivers and agencies on the list. Thanks, Kjkolb 02:35, August 27, 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Reording of the list

While interesting, it's kind of hard to find stuff on the list other than the order of dams by height. I suggest the list be reordered alphabetically by the name of the reservoir. I think the name of the reservoir is better than the dam because dams are sometimes named after a person or a local feature rather than the name of the reservoir, and most people will be more familiar with the name of the reservoir. I think that it would be very difficult to reorder the list, unless there is a way it can be done automatically. Any comments? -- Kjkolb 10:16, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

It is very easy to search within the page for a name. Even crappy browsers can do that. Reordering to alphabetical is not worth considering IMO. --ChrisRuvolo (t) 16:27, 21 April 2006 (UTC)

While it is easy to search (although Firefox has problems with it), I still like to be able to find things by scrolling. As you said, it probably would not be worth it, though, especially if it has to be done manually. -- Kjkolb 08:57, 22 April 2006 (UTC)

I ended up reordering it so that more dams could be added (it took about an hour). There is a problem with getting comparable heights because the main source uses the top of the dam to the original streambed and measurements are usually either undefined or to the bottom of the foundation. Now that they are ordered by reservoir name, I suggest that there be some kind of notation that indicates which measurement is used for the height. I compiled a list of 125 additional dams (I have complete information on most of them) and I'm trying to decide where the cutoff should be. I made a suggestion about it above, but I want to make it so that almost all notable ones will make it without the list being too big. -- Kjkolb 05:30, 28 May 2006 (UTC)