Briones Reservoir facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Briones Reservoir
Briones Reservoir Location in California Show map of California Briones Reservoir Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	Briones Hills, Contra Costa County, California
Coordinates	37°54′54″N 122°12′18″W / 37.915°N 122.205°W / 37.915; -122.205
Lake type	Reservoir
Primary outflows	Terminal (evaporation)
Catchment area	22 km2 (8.5 sq mi)
Basin countries	United States
Water volume	60,510 acre⋅ft (74,640,000 m3)

Briones Reservoir is a large lake in western Contra Costa County, California, in the East Bay area of the San Francisco Bay Area, California. It's a special type of lake called a reservoir, which means it's used to store water.

The East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) owns and manages the reservoir. They use it to provide drinking water to many homes and businesses.

Where is Briones Reservoir Located?

The reservoir is found in the Briones Hills. It's on the west side of Briones Regional Park and northeast of the town of Orinda, California.

A big dirt wall, called Briones Dam, holds back the water. This dam was finished in 1964. Briones Reservoir is the largest of EBMUD's five main reservoirs in the East Bay. It can hold about 60,510 acre-feet of water, which is a huge amount! The area that collects water for the reservoir (its watershed) is about 8.59 square miles (22 square kilometers).

Briones Reservoir and Briones Dam in the Briones Hills.

How Does Briones Reservoir Get Its Water?

Briones Reservoir gets its water from two main places:

• Local Water: Some water comes from the land around the reservoir, called its watershed. Bear Creek, a local stream, flows into the eastern part of the reservoir.
• Imported Water: Most of the water comes from far away! It's brought in through a large pipe called the Briones Aqueduct. This pipe is 7 feet, 6 inches wide and uses four pumps to move up to 60 million gallons of water every day. This imported water comes from the Mokelumne River in the San Joaquin Valley, which is EBMUD's biggest water source.

After the water is stored in Briones Reservoir, it flows to another nearby lake called San Pablo Reservoir. From there, a pumping station in Kensington, California helps send the water out to people's homes.

Can You Do Fun Activities at Briones Reservoir?

Because Briones Reservoir holds water that people drink, EBMUD has very strict rules about activities there.

• What's NOT allowed: You cannot go fishing, swimming, or wading in the water.
• What IS allowed:

* Some college rowing teams (from Mills College, UC Berkeley, and Saint Mary's College) can use the lake. But their boats must be checked first to make sure they don't bring anything that could make the water dirty. * There are two trails, the Bear Creek Trail and the Oursan Trail, that go all the way around the reservoir. Together, they form a 14-mile (23 km) loop. * You can start hiking at the Bear Creek Staging Area, which is inside Briones Regional Park. * You need a special Trail Use Permit from EBMUD to hike these trails. You can get it online for $10. * Horseback riding is allowed on the trails. * Dogs are only allowed on the Oursan Trail part of the loop, and they must be on a leash. * Mountain biking is not allowed on the trails.

Photos

• Briones Reservoir and Briones Hills area
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