Talk:Loon Lake (California)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Nv494.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 02:50, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Intro Message

Hello fellow Wikipedians, I'm planning to build on this page for my Environmental Studies course at California State University, Sacramento.

History

Originally, the Georgetown Divide Public Utility District (GDPUD) had obtained appropriative water rights from the State Water Resources Control Board. Also, GDPUD exercised pre-1914 rights for diversion of water from several tributaries of Pilot Creek in the South Fork American River. The Georgetown Divide Water Company and other water companies invested that included Sierra Pacific Power Company, Loon Lake Water and Power Company, California Water Company and the Pilot Creek Water Company claimed pre-1914 rights in the South Fork Rubicon and Pilot Creek drainages for years prior to the 20th century. These rights included storage in Loon Lake, diversion from South Fork Rubicon River, Gerle Creek and Pilot Creek and all its tributaries. The water storage in Loon Lake was diverted and re-diverted into a canal system which eventually made its way from the South Fork Rubicon drainage into Pilot Creek drainage.

A deed was signed in 1952 by GDPUD, whom paid for the rights and operation of all facilities in the Georgetown service area and the Georgetown Divide Water Company that included Loon Lake, diversions from Rubicon and Onion Creek to all Pilot Creek watersheds and diversions. Between the years of 1940 ad 1950, Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) was interested in obtaining rights to facilities of the GDPUD in the South Fork Rubicon River watershed that included Loon Lake, for development of SMUD's Upper American River Project (UARP). In 1961, an agreement was made between SMUD and GDPUD and the associated rights to the South Fork Rubicon watershed were turned over. The pre-1914 water rights of the facilities in the Upper Rubicon watershed were also turned over to SMUD in the written deed. SMUD then applied for appropriative water rights in the Upper Rubicon watershed which included Loon Lake, diversions into Loon Lake and diversions out of the South Fork Rubicon basin into Silver Creek.

References

UAR Hydroelectric Project

The Upper American River Hydroelectric Project(UARP) is a Water Quality Certification program that was constructed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in conjunction with SMUD and the California State Water Resources Control Board. It was developed between 1959 and 1985 and began its use in 1961. This project that services the counties of El Dorado and Sacramento, was put into action to generate power from the surface runoff of 674 square miles of drainage areas. The watersheds that combine to makeup the UARP are typically characterized by the mountains in the east and gradually smaller hills in the west. The UARP lies within El Dorado National Forest and consists of seven hydroelectric plants, eight powerhouses and 11 reservoirs.

Loon Lake Facility

Loon Lake lies the farthest upstream of all the UARP facilities. This development consists of a 1.6 mile long tunnel that diverts water from the Buck Island Reservoir to the Loon Lake Reservoir. Loon Lake Dam is comprised of a side channel spillway, an auxiliary dam as well as and earthfill dike. Another component, the Loon Lake Powerhouse, is an underground power generator that is located more than 1,000 ft below the Loon Lake Reservoir and has a tunnel that runs from the powerhouse to the Gerle Creek Reservoir. Lastly, there are two transmission lines (69 kilovolts each). One runs from Loon Lake to Robs Peak Transmission Line and the other runs from Loon Lake to Union Valley Transmission Line.

Operation

SMUD in conjunction with the UARP generate power during the most efficient times of the year and generate electricity. This also serves to safeguard the reliability of the electrical transmission system SMUD operates. The Balancing Authority that SMUD operates within is the zone or boundary that it balances power and interchanges with other power grids. The Loon Lake, Ice House and Union Valley Reservoirs generate about 90% of the total UARP storage during the peak winter and spring snowmelt seasons. In the mid-summer the reservoirs let out water storage to generate more power. The Rubicon and Buck Island Reservoirs capture and divert water into Loon Lake to produce the power it generates.

References

Water Quality

Loon Lake water sampling historically takes place at different elevations and is carried out by the USGS, SMUD and ecologists respectively. It is collected at four times during the year, first major rain, spring runoff, summer low flow and fall turnover. The last sampling took place in mid year 2000 near the mouth of Loon Lake Tunnel-Buck Island. The water flowing inward from Ellis Creek reported 21°C and 11°C directly from the Buck Island location. The sampling results show that Loon Lake Reservoir is a cold, clear and well oxygenated body of water. Maximum surface temperatures 13° and 15°C and minimum temperatures were around 8°C. Dissolved oxygen levels between 1999 and 2000 were between 8 and 9 mg/l throughout the water body. These results are consistent with past samples taken and show that Loon Lake Reservoir is close to or at 100 percent saturation. Other tests have shown that the reservoir also shows persistent clarity and that up to 36 feet in depth there is transparency.

References

Amenities

• Camping

The Loon Lake Campground is located on Highway 50 on Ice House Road on the South side of Loon Lake, about 23 miles east of Placerville. The campsite sits approximately at 6,500 ft elevation. Loon Lake Campground is typically open from mid July to mid October and the maximum amount of nights you can stay possible is 14 (annually). Single campsites only allow up to 1 vehicle and up to 6 people. There are 53 campsites total and reservations can be made at Recreation.gov.

• Rubicon Trail

A 4-wheel drive route that spans a total distance of 22 miles and the midway point(Loon Lake) is where the OHV trail begins. More information can be found on County of El Dorado- Rubicon Trail.

Rubicon Trail

• Fishing

Rainbow trout is released here every other week by the Department of Fish and Game

Other activties

• Boating
• Hiking
• Swimming

References

References

1. http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsbdev7_018816.pdf
2. http://www.recreation.gov/camping/loon-lake/r/campgroundDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&parkId=70293
3. http://www.discoverechosummit.com/lodging/loon_lake_camping.html
4. http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/water_quality_cert/docs/uppramrvr/uarp_watertemp_report.pdf
5. http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/water_quality_cert/docs/uppramrvr/uarp_401wqc.pdf
6. https://www.edcgov.us/Government/Rubicon/Information_to_the_Rubicon_Trail.aspx
7. http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/waterrights/water_issues/programs/diversion_use/docs/cmmnt111811/gdpud.pdf — Preceding unsigned comment added by Nv494 (talk • contribs) 03:22, 9 May 2016 (UTC)

Peer Review

Hi Nico, This is Molly, I'm your peer review for this assignment. I posted my rough draft on the sandbox so late today. I guess you didn't have the chance to review my draft. I'm so sorry. I'm kinda behind on my rough draft and still working on it. I will have a better draft someday this week. Therefore, you can check it back anytime. Thanks Molly For your article, I think it's a very good start. The article is organized well so far, and it's easy to follow. I think it will be more interesting if you can add a little bit specifications about the lake like geography, capacity, or history. This is just a suggestion. Overall, your article looks good. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mollydam (talk • contribs) 08:00, 20 April 2016 (UTC)

Peer Review comments/thanks

Thank you Molly for your input and suggestions for my Wikipedia rough draft article. It is very hard to find decent information on this topic and other than that its hard to actually find information in general. I will add more specifications about the geography and capacity of the lake. I'm trying not to overstep what has already been said/listed on the current Wikipedia page. Thanks again!