Copco Lake

Copco Lake is an artificial lake on the Klamath River in Siskiyou County, California, near the Oregon border in the United States. The lake's waters are impounded by the Copco Number 1 Dam (National ID CA00323), which was completed in 1922.[2] COPCO was an acronym referring to the California Oregon Power Company, which merged into Pacific Power and Light in 1961, and is now known as Pacificorp.[3]

Copco Lake
Location of the reservoir in California, USA.
Location of the reservoir in California, USA.
Copco Lake
Location of the reservoir in California, USA.
Location of the reservoir in California, USA.
Copco Lake
LocationSiskiyou County, California[1]
Coordinates41°58′46″N 122°18′13″W[1]
Typereservoir
Primary inflowsKlamath River, Beaver Creek, Raymond Gulch, Spannaus Gulch, Snackenburg Creek, Milk Creek, Parks Canyon, Indian Creek,
Primary outflowsKlamath River[2]
Catchment area4,300 square miles (11,000 km2)[2]
Basin countriesUnited States
Max. length3 miles (4.8 km)
Max. width1,200 yards (1,100 m)
Surface area1,000 acres (400 ha)[2]
Average depth77 feet (23 m)
Water volume77,000 acre-feet (95,000,000 m3)[2]
Surface elevation2,605 feet (794 m)[1]

Copco Number 1 and Number 2 Dams are two of the four dams in the Klamath River Hydroelectric Project which have been proposed for removal.[4][5][6] As of February 2016, the states of Oregon and California, the dam owners, federal regulators and other parties reached an agreement to remove all four dams by the year 2020, pending approval by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC).[7] The plan was delayed in 2020 due to conditions placed on the project by FERC.[8] As of February 25, 2022, the FERC released their final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the dam's removal.[9] The dam is expected to be removed sometime in 2023 or 2024.[10] The social movement to Un-Dam the Klamath has been ongoing for 20 years.[11][12]

Copco Number 1 Dam
Copco Number 1 Dam
Copco Number 1 Dam
CountryUnited States
LocationSiskiyou County, California
Coordinates41°58′48″N 122°20′04″W
Opening date1922
Owner(s)PacifiCorp
Dam and spillways
Type of damGravity
ImpoundsKlamath River[2]
Height132 feet (40 m)[2]
Length415 feet (126 m)[2]
Elevation at crest2,613 feet (796 m)[2]
Width (crest)9 feet (2.7 m)[2]
Dam volume70,312 cubic yards (53,757 m3)[2]
Reservoir
CreatesCopco Reservoir
Total capacity77,000 acre-feet (95,000,000 m3)[2]
Catchment area4,300 square miles (11,000 km2)[2]
Maximum length3 miles (4.8 km)
Maximum width1,200 yards (1,100 m)

Copco Number 1 Dam is a gravity dam 415 feet (126 m) long and 132 feet (40 m) high, with 19.5 feet (5.9 m) of freeboard. PacifiCorp owns the dam.[2]

Copco Number 2 Dam

Copco Number 2 Dam is a gated diversion dam located just below Dam No. 1. The dam diverts most of the flow of the river, about 2,400 to 2,500 cu ft/s (68 to 71 m3/s), through a flume and tunnels to a 27 megawatt powerhouse 1.5 miles (2.4 km) downstream, on the upstream end of Iron Gate Reservoir. The diversion bypasses a canyon section of the Klamath River that historically consisted of some steep rapids. The dam is required to maintain a minimum release of 10 cu ft/s (0.28 m3/s) to prevent this stretch from being entirely dewatered. Because it has no effective storage capacity, Dam No. 2 depends entirely on the regulated flows released from Copco Lake.[13] The dam is currently being demolished.[14]

Recreation

The lake is used for kayaking, fishing, swimming, windsurfing, power boating, and sailing, and the surrounding area has facilities for picnicking and hiking.[15]

See also

References
  1. "Copco Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. "Dams Within the Jurisdiction of the State of California (A-G)" (PDF). California Department of Water Resources, Division of Safety of Dams. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  3. "California Oregon Power Company or COPCO" (PDF). Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  4. "Klamath River Dam and Sediment Investigation" (PDF). Gathard Engineering Consulting. November 2006. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  5. Fimrite, Peter (September 30, 2009). "Deal to raze 4 Klamath dams". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  6. Aschbrenner, Joel (Mar 8, 2012). "Copco Lake: Homeowners worry as property values drop". Herald and News. Retrieved December 21, 2012.
  7. "New plan to remove Klamath River dams without help from Congress". 3 February 2016.
  8. "Agency throws curveball in largest US dam demolition plan along Oregon border". The Associated Press. Jul 17, 2020. Retrieved 20 Jul 2020.
  9. "FERC Staff Issues the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Hydropower License Surrender and Decommissioning of the Lower Klamath Project No. 14803 (P-14803-001) | Federal Energy Regulatory Commission". www.ferc.gov. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  10. "Major hurdle cleared in plan to demolish 4 Klamath River dams". opb. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  11. Hartel, Diana (25 May 2011). "Doctor's Orders: Undam the Klamath". High Country News. Archived from the original on 2011-05-18.
  12. "Dams Are Threatening California Salmon and a Native Tribe's Culture". VICE News. 22 October 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-23.
  13. "Copco No. 2: The dam produces power but no irrigation water".
  14. https://www.opb.org/article/2023/07/16/klamath-dam-removal-copco-2/
  15. "Copco lake - Kayaking". Retrieved December 21, 2012.
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