Water Facts - Nimbus Dam and Powerplant
Nimbus Dam
- Located 7 miles downstream from Folsom Dam
- Measures 76 feet high and 1,093 feet long
- An afterbay structure for Folsom Dam, built to re-regulate flows of the American River
- A diversion dam to direct water into the Folsom South Canal
- A forebay for the Nimbus hydroelectric generators
- A concrete gravity dam with an overflow controlled by radial gates
- Part of the Central Valley Project
- Completed in 1955
Nimbus Powerplant
- 2 generators
- Combined capacity of 15,526 kilowatts of electrical power. This is nearly enough power to light 250,000 100-watt light bulbs.
Lake Natoma
- Total storage capacity of 8,760 acre-feet
- 14 miles of shoreline
- Recreation opportunities managed by California State Parks.
Nimbus Salmon and Steelhead Hatchery
- Operated by the State of California with funds provided by the Bureau of Reclamation
- Built to replace spawning areas inundated by the construction of Folsom and Nimbus Dams
- Annual production goals of 4 million Chinook Salmon and 435,000 Steelhead Trout
- Salmon are released at 6 months of age and steelhead are released at 1 year
