irrigation, municipal water supply, and hydroelectric generation. The flood control reservation is one of the smallest among major California reservoirs because it allows for more water to be stored for power generation, but this has often resulted in inadequate flood protection such as in 1997 when the dam released more than – almost six times the capacity of downstream levees. The bottom is considered dead storage, or the lowest point at which water can be released to generate power. At an elevation of (service spillway crest), the reservoir is long, and has an area of with of shoreline. The maximum elevation of the reservoir at the crest of the emergency spillway is above sea level. During construction of the dam, it was anticipated that the large size and scenic location of the reservoir, coupled with its proximity to urban centers, would make it a large tourist draw. A $40,000 plan was put forth to develop the reservoir for recreational activities. This entailed the construction of campsites, picnic areas, boat ramps, a landing strip, and hiking trails, including on 14 of the 33 islands in the lake. Don Pedro has become a popular summer destination in Central California, attracting 360,000–400,000 visitors each year. Future development In 1923, the same year that Old Don Pedro was completed, the City of San Francisco finished construction of O'Shaughnessy Dam, which forms a reservoir in the upper Tuolumne River's Hetch Hetchy Valley and is the focus of one of the most longstanding environmental controversies in United States history. Proponents of the dam's removal, including former Sierra Club president David Brower, suggest raising New Don Pedro Dam to replace the storage that would be lost with the draining of Hetch Hetchy. Increasing the height of New Don Pedro by just would add about to the reservoir's storage capacity, replacing most of the storage in Hetch Hetchy, though new tunnels would have to be built to deliver water from Don Pedro Reservoir to the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct and there would be a net loss of hydroelectric generation from O'Shaughnessy. Of note is that San Francisco is already entitled to of the water stored in Don Pedro, although this allocation is overruled by the senior water rights of the irrigation districts during dry years. TID is currently investigating the feasibility of constructing a large pumped-storage hydroelectric plant on Lake Don Pedro in order to better meet peaking power