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Lake Del Valle
Del Valle Regional Park Panorama.jpg
Lake Del Valle
Location of Lake Del Valle in California, USA.
Location of Lake Del Valle in California, USA.
Lake Del Valle
Location in California
Location of Lake Del Valle in California, USA.
Location of Lake Del Valle in California, USA.
Lake Del Valle
Location in the United States
Location Alameda County, California
Coordinates 37°35′54″N 121°43′16″W / 37.59833°N 121.72111°W / 37.59833; -121.72111
Type reservoir
Basin countries United States
Max. length 5 miles (8.0 km)
Surface area 708 acres (287 ha)
Max. depth 153 feet (47 m)
Water volume 77,100 acre-feet (95,100,000 m3)
Shore length1 16 miles (26 km)
Settlements Livermore, California
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Lake Del Valle is a storage reservoir located 10 miles (16 km) southeast of Livermore, in Alameda County, California. It is within Del Valle Regional Park.

Lake description

Lake del Valle aerial view, December 2018
Aerial view of the lake in 2018

It is on Arroyo Valle (Spanish for "creek of the valley") in the Diablo Range. The lake is formed by Del Valle Dam, completed in 1968.

The lake and dam are part of the California State Water Project, as part of the South Bay Aqueduct. The lake serves in part as off-stream storage for the South Bay Aqueduct. The capacity of the lake is 77,000 acre-feet (95,000,000 m3), however, the lake has a flood storage of 25,000 to 40,000 acre-feet (31,000,000 to 49,000,000 m3). Thus normally stores 37,000 to 52,000 acre-feet (46,000,000 to 64,000,000 m3). The lake is a popular destination for hikers, bikers, and boaters.

The Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct passes below the lake, but does not connect to it.

The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment issued a fishing advisory regarding the mercury levels of fish caught from the body of water.

Dam description

The dam is 230 feet (70 m) high and 880 feet (270 m) long. Its crest elevation is 773 feet (236 m). The dam contains 4,150,000 cubic yards (3,170,000 m3) of earth fill.

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