The Nacimiento Water Project Intake facility is located at Lake Nacimiento, just north of the Nacimiento Dam spillway, in north San Luis Obispo County. Its purpose is to draw high quality water from Lake Nacimiento for delivery to the Project’s participating communities. The Intake consists of four main aspects:

Intake Shaft. A 180-foot deep, 20-foot diameter vertical shaft and wetwell will be constructed at the Intake site to collect water that will be pumped through the Project’s pipeline. Shaft work includes shaft excavation, design and construction of an initial shaft support system, ground water control, grouting, and construction of the final shaft lining.

Intake Tunnel. A 500-foot long, 48-inch minimum diameter tunnel will be constructed to connect the bottom of the shaft to the lake. Tunnel work will be performed via microtunneling and a live lake tap.

Intake Pipe. An intake pipe will be constructed to connect to the Intake tunnel and to slope up the lake bottom. The pipe will draw water via seven ports with hydraulic pressure system actuating valves and fish screens, which will be installed along the Intake pipe at various depths of the reservoir for optimal quality control. The Intake pipe construction will require marine and diving operations to perform underwater excavation, to construct pipe supports, and to install the intake pipe.

Log Boom. The existing log boom that provides a safety buffer around the Nacimiento Dam will be removed and replaced to protect the new Intake facilities and to eliminate recreational body contact with the water within 500 feet of the Intake pipe.