Pelton Dam
Pelton Dam is a major dam on the Deschutes River in Jefferson County, Oregon, owned and operated as a hydroelectric facility by Portland General Electric, one element of its Pelton Round Butte Project on the Deschutes.
The concrete arch dam at Pelton dates from 1958, has a height of 204 feet (62 m) from bedrock, a width of 965 feet (294 m) at its crest, and generates 110 megawatts of electricity.[1]
Upstream, to the south, Pelton Dam impounds the waters of the Deschutes to create the deep Lake Simtustus in a relatively narrow canyon about 7 miles (11 km) back to the 1964 Round Butte Dam. The lake has a surface area of about 540 acres (220 ha) and holds 33,190 acre-feet (40,940,000 m3) of water. The name "Simtustus" honors a native who scouted for the U.S. Army during the 1867–68 campaign against the Paiutes.[2]
Downstream, 2.5 miles (4 km) north, a regulating dam controls the river flow. The area between is called the Pelton Regulating Reservoir. In 1982 the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs installed a hydroelectric turbine unit in the regulating dam for additional power.[3] Between 2000 and 2005 the CTWS also asserted itself as a stakeholder in the project's re-licensing negotiations between Portland General Electric and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, winning key environmental, cultural, and water rights concessions.[1]
On June 29, 2021, Pelton Dam recorded a temperature of 119°F (48.3°C), making it the third time Oregon’s highest temperature was recorded. Prineville recorded a temperature of 119°F on July 28, 1898, and Pendleton recorded the same temperature shortly after on August 10 that same year.
Climate
| Climate data for Pelton Dam (extremes 1958-present) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °F (°C) | 71 (22) |
78 (26) |
86 (30) |
95 (35) |
108 (42) |
119 (48) |
114 (46) |
117 (47) |
108 (42) |
103 (39) |
79 (26) |
71 (22) |
119 (48) |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 57.2 (14.0) |
61.0 (16.1) |
65.7 (18.7) |
71.8 (22.1) |
82.0 (27.8) |
91.9 (33.3) |
99.9 (37.7) |
98.1 (36.7) |
92.3 (33.5) |
79.4 (26.3) |
64.4 (18.0) |
56.0 (13.3) |
76.6 (24.8) |
| Daily mean °F (°C) | 47.5 (8.6) |
50.5 (10.3) |
54.4 (12.4) |
59.4 (15.2) |
68.2 (20.1) |
77.1 (25.1) |
83.4 (28.6) |
81.0 (27.2) |
75.3 (24.1) |
64.8 (18.2) |
52.9 (11.6) |
46.6 (8.1) |
63.4 (17.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 37.7 (3.2) |
40.1 (4.5) |
43.2 (6.2) |
47.0 (8.3) |
54.3 (12.4) |
62.4 (16.9) |
67.0 (19.4) |
63.9 (17.7) |
58.2 (14.6) |
50.2 (10.1) |
41.5 (5.3) |
37.2 (2.9) |
50.2 (10.1) |
| Mean minimum °F (°C) | 27.0 (−2.8) |
28.8 (−1.8) |
32.0 (0.0) |
34.5 (1.4) |
42.6 (5.9) |
51.3 (10.7) |
58.0 (14.4) |
56.1 (13.4) |
48.9 (9.4) |
39.1 (3.9) |
29.7 (−1.3) |
25.7 (−3.5) |
23.5 (−4.7) |
| Record low °F (°C) | −10 (−23) |
−11 (−24) |
9 (−13) |
17 (−8) |
24 (−4) |
29 (−2) |
35 (2) |
36 (2) |
25 (−4) |
9 (−13) |
0 (−18) |
−15 (−26) |
−15 (−26) |
| Average precipitation inches (mm) | 6.04 (153) |
5.48 (139) |
4.62 (117) |
2.41 (61) |
1.81 (46) |
0.75 (19) |
0.07 (1.8) |
0.13 (3.3) |
0.45 (11) |
1.92 (49) |
3.53 (90) |
6.31 (160) |
33.52 (851) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 1.1 (2.8) |
0.8 (2.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.0 (0.0) |
0.7 (1.8) |
2.6 (6.6) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) | 12.2 | 10.9 | 11.7 | 8.1 | 6.1 | 2.9 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 4.7 | 8.8 | 12.6 | 80.6 |
| Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0.8 |
| Source 1: NOAA[4][5] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2: WRCC[6] | |||||||||||||
References
- ^ a b "Dams and Development Project". Archived from the original on 2011-08-22. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
- ^ Unknown
- ^ "Deschutes River: Hydro Plants and Fish Facilities | PGE". Archived from the original on 2012-06-09. Retrieved 2011-04-01.
- ^ "NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data". W2.weather.gov. Archived from the original on June 27, 2021. Retrieved July 16, 2020.
- ^ "U.S. Climate Normals Quick Access – Station: Redding MUNI AP, CA". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Archived from the original on February 24, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
- ^ "Western Regional Climate Center Data". wrcc.dri.edu. Archived from the original on August 12, 2024. Retrieved September 18, 2022.