Upper American River Project

The system consists of 11 dams and eight powerhouses that tap the upper tributaries of the American River drainage in the Sierra Nevada for power generation.

Project dams provide water storage of about 430,000 acre⋅ft (530,000 dam3) and a total hydraulic head of 5,417 ft (1,651 m) from the highest reservoir to the lowest powerplant outflow.

SMUD began construction in September of that year, and the first power generation from UARP came online at Jaybird Powerhouse on May 1, 1961.

The water then enters a penstock that feeds the Camino Powerhouse above Slab Creek Reservoir on the South Fork American River.

From there, water is sent through a final tunnel to White Rock Powerhouse, located on the upper end of Chili Bar Reservoir also on the South Fork.

Loon Lake , the uppermost major storage reservoir of UARP−Upper American River Project.