SHASTA COUNTY, Calif. - Construction is currently underway to raise the height of the Shasta Dam by 18 and a half feet, a project that has been decades in the making.
The stage of pre-construction is expected to take place in the next few months. Geologists have already begun drilling for core samples on and around the dam to determine the engineering needs for construction.
"The cores provide concrete-strict data that contractors would then use for determining how to anchor the new 18 and a half feet onto the existing surface," said Don Bader, manager for the Bureau of Reclamation in Northern California.
The first construction contract is not expected to take place until late next year.
The project will raise the dam from 602 feet to 620 1/2 feet. This would allow for extra storage of over 600,000 square-acre feet of water.
A visual representation of the dam raise is in the video.
