Dinkey Creek is a large stream in the southern

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

, in

Fresno County Fresno County (), officially the County of Fresno, is a county located in the central portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 1,008,654. The county seat is Fresno, the fifth-most populo ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The creek is long, flowing undammed in a southerly direction through the

Sierra National Forest Sierra National Forest is a U.S. national forest located on the western slope of the central Sierra Nevada in California, bounded on the northwest by Yosemite National Park and on the south by Kings Canyon National Park. The forest is known for ...

. It is a tributary of the

North Fork Kings River The North Fork Kings River is a tributary of the Kings River, in the U.S. state of California. The river's main stem is entirely within Fresno County, and its watershed drains about of the southern Sierra Nevada mountain range. Course It rise ...

, in turn part of the Kings River system which drains into the de-watered

Tulare Lake Tulare Lake () or Tache Lake ( Yokuts: ''Pah-áh-su'', ''Pah-áh-sē'') is a freshwater lake in the southern San Joaquin Valley, California, United States. Historically, Tulare Lake was once the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi R ...

bed. Dinkey Creek originates in the Dinkey Lakes Wilderness, along the Three Sisters peaks, at an elevation of above sea level. It initially flows southwest, dropping over Dinkey Falls, then turning south a short distance below Dinkey Dome. It then flows past the community of Dinkey Creek and receives its largest tributary, Deer Creek, from the left. The creek empties into the North Fork Kings River near Balch Camp, at an elevation of . The creek was named in 1863 by a group of hunters who were attacked there by a grizzly bear. The hunters' dog, Dinkey, tried to fight the bear, but was fatally injured. One of the men was then able to grab his gun and shoot the bear. They named the nearby stream Dinkey Creek to honor the dog's bravery.

Dinkey Creek Hydroelectric Project

A hydroelectric project was proposed by the Kings River Conservation District (KRCD) in 1978 on Dinkey Creek, but was canceled just two months before the start of construction in 1986 because

PG&E The Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) is an American investor-owned utility (IOU). The company is headquartered at Kaiser Center, in Oakland, California. PG&E provides natural gas and electricity to 5.2 million households in the norther ...

withdrew from the power purchase agreement. That was caused in part by delays caused by environmental litigation challenging parts of the plan, as well as a dispute between PG&E and the California Public Utilities Commission over related environmental issues. The KRCD's "Dinkey Creek Hydroelectric Project" would have consisted of a high rock fill dam with a spillway at elevation , a reservoir, and two separate 60

megawatt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

power stations. Construction would have also included of power tunnels, and four vertical shafts, and a long diversion tunnel in hard, massive, granitic rock. The Dinkey Creek Inn in the community of Dinkey Creek is also located at elevation. According to the Bureau of Reclamation; "Adverse environmental impacts would be expected in all categories assessed—botany, wildlife, aquatic biology and water quality, recreation, and land use. In particular, a reservoir at Dinkey Creek would fundamentally alter the existing recreation-based community."https://www.usbr.gov/mp/sccao/storage/docs/phase1_rpt_fnl/tech_app/02_dinkey_creek.pdf ''Upper San Joaquin River Basin Storage Investigation, Dinkey Creek Reservoir'' - U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, Jun 13, 2002 "...adverse impacts to fisheries and fishing-oriented recreation resources. A reduction in flow, particularly during spring and summer when rainbow trout are spawning and the young are growing, could affect physical habitat availability. Changes in water temperature below the dam could adversely impact trout and the dam would impede migration." Retrieved 2019-03-23

References

Rivers of Fresno County, California {{California-river-stub

Dinkey Creek Hydroelectric Project

See also

References