Donnells Dam

Donnells Dam
Location in California
Official nameDonnells 62-005 Dam
CountryUnited States
LocationTuolumne County, California
Coordinates38°19′48″N 119°57′46″W / 38.33000°N 119.96278°W / 38.33000; -119.96278
Opening date1958 (1958)
Owner(s)Tri-Dam Project
Dam and spillways
Type of damConcrete arch
ImpoundsMiddle Fork, Stanislaus River
Height291 feet (89 m)
Length714 feet (218 m)
Elevation at crest4,921.8 feet (1,500.2 m)
Reservoir
CreatesDonnell Lake
Total capacity56,893 acre-feet (70,176,000 m3)
Catchment area229 square miles (590 km2)
Surface area401 acres (162 ha)
Installed capacity72 MW
Annual generation270,234,000 KWh (2001–2012)

Donnells Dam (National ID # CA00264) is a concrete arch dam located on the Middle Fork of the Stanislaus River in Tuolumne County, California. The water impounded by the 291-foot (89 m) high dam forms Donnell Lake in Stanislaus National Forest. The dam and reservoir are co-owned by the Oakdale Irrigation District and South San Joaquin Irrigation District, and the dam is one of three in the Tri-Dam Project. The other two dams in the project are Beardsley Dam and Tulloch Dam.

The dam has a length of 750 feet (230 m) at its crest and a storage capacity of 56,893 acre-feet (70,176,000 m3). Donnells Reservoir, along with the two other dams of that make up the Tri-Dam Project, currently provide water for the irrigation of about 117,500 acres (47,600 ha) of farmland in Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties. The reservoir also generates hydroelectric power and supplies water to urban areas.