EQUIPMENT LINEUP - "Euclid Rockers" rest following a storm.  Most hours of the day and night they ferry heavy material from excavation sites to the dam. Route to and from the dam contains one of the widest roads in the county.

Published February 1978 in the PML News

NEW MELONES ROLLS AHEAD
Unknown Author

The 12-year-long New Melones project is nearing completion as the dam rises toward its ultimate height of 625 feet.

The dam is now 400 feet high, is considered about 70 percent complete and will be finished by October 1, reports project engineer Joe Nelson.

(Picture on left ) ON THE RISE- New Melones dam is now 400 feet above the Stanislaus riverbed. When completed, the dam will be 62 feet high (dotted line). At the base of the dam are the new (left) and old (right) powerhouses. The bridge in the foreground provides access to the dam construction sites.

The total New Melones project - including powerhouse, dam, bridges and land acquisition - will cost $340 million. About 83 percent of the total project costs have been incurred.  Powerhouse completion is not expected until July, 1979, but it will be tested in the spring of 1979 if the new reservoir level is high enough.

"Powerhouse Construction has continued indoors during the winter storms. The $60 million facility and equipment will have a capacity of 200,000 kilowatts, more than 3 percent of the hydroelectric power generated in the state."
 
New Melones lake will hold 2.4 million acre feet of water - about 400,000 acre feet more than held by Lake Don Pedro at maximum pool. There will be 100 miles of shoreline.

Nelson estimates that the new reservoir could begin filling on Nov 1 if agreements are worked out with irrigation districts.

It will require about three times the old Melones dam storage capacity for the new powerhouse to be tested.

Old Melones holds 112,000 acre-feet, it's not full now, and 365,000 acre-feet of water will be needed to reach the intake shaft of the new powerhouse.

(An acre-foot is about 280,000 gallons, the amount of water it would take to flood an acre to a depth of one foot.)

New Melones is the highest earth core dam ever built by the Army Corps of Engineers, reports Nelson.

At its base, the dam is 2,400 feet wide.

Nelson said that all of the needed equipment will be on schedule. It was earlier feared that large water control valves might not be finished in time.

Heavy rain has delayed work on the dam because of muddy and dangerous conditions on the wide access road on which dam fill material is transported to the top of the dam.

The powerhouse is enclosed, so work has been progressing inside.

About 575 men have been working on the dam and powerhouse projects. Work progresses on shifts around the clock.

Another 50 to 60 men are working on the Parrot's's Ferry and Camp 9 bridges. Ninety-five people work in the Army Corps offices.

Nelson said that about 800 people are working when the projects is at full strength in summer months.

The new powerhouse will have a 300,000-kilowatt output, compared to 22,000 kilowatts from the old powerhouse at Melones.

Electrical power generated by the plant will be sufficient for 200,000 domestic customers.

The project is expected to return $1.70 for every $1 invested.

In 1980, Nelson said the project would be transferred to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for operation.

Recreational facilities to be developed around the lake will be operated and maintained by the Army Corps.

It is anticipated that recreation visitor days will exceed 800,000 three years after the project is completed, with a rise to 3 million visitor days annually.

(Popular Yosemite National Park attracts 2-3 million visitors annually)

New Melones lake will inundate the portion of the Stanislaus river from Camp 9 to Parrot's's Ferry, a popular whitewater rafting section.