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Clean Currents, the National Hydropower Association’s (NHA) annual waterpower trade show and conference, will take place in Sacramento, California, the week of October 17, 2022. The event offers a number of opportunities for attendees, such as connecting with peers from across the waterpower community, hearing from speakers tuned into innovative and visionary insights, and exploring the latest waterpower solutions from across the supply chain.
While there is a wealth of content at Clean Currents, NHA has coordinated with the California Department of Water Resources to put together the unique opportunity to experience one of California’s most important assets – the California State Water Project; the last day to reserve your spot on the tour is September 16th
Located 90 minutes north of Sacramento, the Oroville Complex is the heart of the California State Water Project, and it has a generating capacity of 925 MW. Recognized by the American Society of Civil Engineers as one of the outstanding engineering achievements of the 20th Century, the Lake Oroville Complex moves water from Lake Oroville and the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta to 750,000 acres of farmland, businesses throughout the state, and to 27 million Californians.
The tour kicks off on Monday, October 17th at 8:00 a.m. and spans notable sites across the Oroville Complex. Starting at the Lake Oroville Visitor Center, tour participants will have the opportunity to view exhibits on Lake Oroville hydropower and reservoir operations, watch a video on the Oroville Dam construction, and climb the 47-foot-high observation tower, which is renown for its unparalleled views of Oroville Dam, Lake Oroville, the Sierra Nevada range, and the Sutter Buttes.
For those interested in the Oroville Dam, the California Department of Water Resources, who is hosting the tour, will allow participants up-close access to the structure, which is the tallest dam in the United States at 770 feet high and nearly 7,000 feet in length. Included in the tour of the Oroville Dam are the spillways, which were reconstructed in 2017-2018, and the main spillway is over 3,000 feet long and 180 feet wide. Afterwards, the tour will move to the Edward Hyatt Powerplant, where participants will observe the three generating units and three pumping-generating units, which have the capability of generating up to 714 MW of clean hydropower.
The tour concludes with a visit to the Feather River Fish Hatchery, Fish Ladder, and Diversion Dam, where participants will be able to observe the diversion dam, hatchery, and raceways. The hatchery raises more than 8 million spring-run and fall-run Chinook salmon annually, along with 450,000 steelhead. The fish are raised on-site until they’re large enough to be returned to the water.
With spots limited to a total of 60 people, and with a cost of $50 per person, the tour of the Lake Oroville Complex is not to be missed.
To learn more about the unique opportunity to visit one of California’s most critical waterpower resources, check out the site here or add the tour onto your Clean Currents 2022 registration.
