Folsom Powerhouse Sluice Gates, Folsom, California
N 38° 40.772 W 121° 10.607
10S E 658591 N 4282792
Historice Folsom Powerhouse Sluice Gates
Waymark Code: WMKQ7W
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 05/15/2014
Views: 32
These sluice gates controlled water flow into the historic Folsom Powerhouse. It tapped river flow from the American River with a dam near the site of Folsom Prison, Folsom, California.
The Powerhouse, sluices, and surrounding area is now a state historic site.
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From wikipedia:
The water for the original Folsom hydroelectric plant was obtained from a diversion dam, 650 feet (200 m) long, 24 feet (7.3 m) wide at the top; 87 feet (27 m) wide at the bottom and 89 feet (27 m) tall, across the American River built in the 1890s. The dam diverted a large stream of water into a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) long diversion canal—the East Canal. This canal was 50 feet (15 m) wide and 8 feet (2.4 m) deep, carrying about 85,000 cubic feet (2,400 m3) of water per minute. The canal paralleled the river but sloped much less steeply gradually getting about 85 feet (26 m) above the river. The dam and canal were completed in 1893 under the direction of Horatio Gates Livermore who originally thought to use the power of the falling water to power a sawmill. Livermore utilized in part contracted prison labor from the nearby Folsom State Prison to help build the dam and canal. The geometry of the canal forebay and the American River gave the Folsom power plant a Hydraulic head of water of about 85 feet (26 m) (about 70 feet (21 m) was usable) before its water was discharged back into the American River. Initially only about 35 feet (11 m) of this hydraulic head was used. The water from the canal ended in a forebay where water borne debris was separated from the water and it was fed into four large 8-foot-diameter (2.4 m) penstocks and two smaller penstocks. All penstocks had water gates that could be closed to turn the water off on any turbine for maintenance. The AC generators, some of the largest designed and built up to that time, were powered via four penstocks full of rushing water driving four large turbines.