Courtright Dam

Courtright Reservoir is a reservoir in Fresno County, California. The reservoir is at an elevation of 8,170 feet (2, 490 m) in the Sierra National Forest, in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, bordering the John Muir Wilderness and the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness. The high Sierra reservoir is formed by Courtright Dam in Helms Creek canyon and has a capacity of 123,300 acre-feet (152, 100, 000 m3). The dam is composed of rock-fill and is 315 feet (96 m) tall, measured from the crest to the original streambed. It was completed in 1958 (1958) and is owned by Pacific Gas and Electric. In 1984 the Helms Pumped Storage Powerhouse was added to the reservoir allowing it to pump water from Wishon to Courtright. Its primary purpose is hydroelectricity production. The lake is an "off-river" (or "off-channel") storage reservoir. In addition to the small amount of conventional hydroelectricity production from the flow of Helms Creek, Courtright Reservoir serves mainly as the upper reservoir for the Helms Pumped Storage Plant. Wishon Reservoir, an on-channel reservoir a couple of miles downstream on the Kings River, is the lower reservoir and main water source. During times of peak demand for electricity, when it is most expensive, water is drained from Courtright Reservoir, run through the 1,212 MW Helms Power Plant and empties into Wishon Reservoir. When demand and prices for electricity are low,

Dam data from Wikidata (CC0) plus curated additions. Summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).