Description
The 320,000 acre·ft (390,000,000 m3) lake with a surface elevation of approximately 1,500 feet (460 m) above sea level is the terminus of the West Branch California Aqueduct, though some comes from the 154 square miles (400 km2) Castaic Creek watershed above the dam. The aqueduct water comes from Pyramid Lake through a pipeline and is used to power Castaic Power Plant, on the northern end of the lake.
In addition, the lake is the lower reservoir in a pumped-storage hydroelectric system. Water is pumped back up to Pyramid Lake at night, when electricity demand and cost is low. During the day, when prices and demand are high, the water is let back down.
Castaic Dam and Castaic Lake are a de facto replacement for the St. Francis Dam, which was located in San Francisquito Canyon, the next canyon to the east. The St. Francis Dam collapsed in 1928, with the resulting flood killing over 400 people in the Santa Clara River Valley.
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