Background
Division Creek Power Plant (Project) is a spring fed Hydro Power Unit with a consistent daily flow of around 8 cubic-feet per second year round. Two Power stations, Division Creek Power Plants Units 1 and 2, were built in early 1900 to capture the energy of the water. Decades later Division Creek Power Plant Unit 1 was destroyed by a major fire and was never re-built.
Division Creek Power Plant Unit 2 is still in operation generating close to 550 kilowatt (kW). Recently, the Water System replaced a portion of the flow-line from Division Creek Unit 2 and is scheduled to replace the remainder of the flow-line. The location of the burned down Unit 1 was located halfway between Division Creek Unit 2 and the old Highway 395. The water from Division Creek Power Plant supplies water to the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) fisheries and must be kept flowing all the time. The remainder feeds into the Los Angeles Aqueduct system.
Project Description
The Project consists of two phases. The first phase consists of replacing of approximately 14,000 feet of penstock. The second phase is the design and construction of a 1200 kW hydro unit. The new plant will be located downstream of Division Creek Unit 2 within LADWP-controlled land and adjacent to the existing flow-line and LADWP transmission line. Division Creek Unit 2 will be retired after successful commissioning of the new unit.
The alignment of the replacement flow-line will parallel the existing underground line which is located mostly on United States Forest Service land. During construction of Phase 1 and 2, the existing flow-line will remain in service to supply water to the DFG fisheries and will be abandoned after completion of the Project. The existing flow-line is buried underground and the new proposed replacement flow-line will be either above or below ground depending on results of the engineering study of soil conditions and access roads during construction.