Saturday, December 16, 2023

Folsom and Nimbus Dams on American River Northeast of Sacramento, CA

Folsom: (Satellite)

Folsum

 
Street View

mitchell trollope, Jan 2018

The oldest street view available, 2011, shows the excavation for the auxiliary spillway was done, but this is the first one that shows construction activity on it.
Street View, May 2015

It is interesting that they stair-stepped the steep part of this spillway. When they rebuilt the Oroville Dam, they used a smooth spillway and big "sharks teeth" at the bottom.
Anon Ymous, Apr 2015

This is the only photo I saw that shows the auxiliary spillway being used. It appears they control the Tainter gates with hydraulic rams rather than the traditional cables or chains.
Derek Pate, Jan 2018

In Jul 1995, a gate broke.
13:45 video @ 0:40


Nimbus


Travis Bender posted three photos:
John Hansen: Found this information. This might be the plant. Nimbus Dam, 7 miles downstream of Folsom Dam on the American River, regulates releases made through Folsom Dam. Nimbus Dam forms Lake Natoma, with a surface area of 540 acres and a capacity of 8,760 acrefeet. 
Nimbus Dam is a concrete gravity dam 1,093 feet long and 87 feet high. Eighteen radial gates, each 40 feet by 24 feet, control the flows.Nimbus Powerplant is located on the right abutment of the dam, on the river’s north side. Its two generators have a capacity of 7,763 kilowatts each. Water is supplied to the two 9,400 horsepower turbines that drive the generators through six 46.5-foot-long penstocks. Nimbus Dam and Powerplant began operating in 1955. Power generated by the Folsom and Nimbus Powerplants is marketed by the Western Area Power Administration.
Dennis DeBruler: I know of Baldwin-Lima-Hamilton as a manufacture of railroad locomotives. I did not know that they also made hydropower turbines.
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2, cropped

3, cropped

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