The Helm Canal is an aqueduct

Aqueduct

An aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....

 in Clovis, California

Clovis, California

Clovis is a city in Fresno County, California, United States, northeast of Fresno. The population is estimated to be 97,218 as of September, 2011. Clovis is located northeast of downtown Fresno, at an elevation of 361 feet .-History:...

, involved in a series of water transfers to eliminate selenium

Selenium

Selenium is a chemical element with atomic number 34, chemical symbol Se, and an atomic mass of 78.96. It is a nonmetal, whose properties are intermediate between those of adjacent chalcogen elements sulfur and tellurium...

 bearing brackish waters to the San Joaquin River

San Joaquin River

The San Joaquin River is the largest river of Central California in the United States. At over long, the river starts in the high Sierra Nevada, and flows through a rich agricultural region known as the San Joaquin Valley before reaching Suisun Bay, San Francisco Bay, and the Pacific Ocean...

 to bypass agricultural deliveries.

The Helm canal was previously used to irrigate numerous properties that were in agricultural usage and are presently converted to urban uses such as the site of the Clovis Towne Center. Topography in the locale of the Helm Canal is generally very level having been formed by alluvial fans. The elevation in the vicinity of the Helm Canal is approximately 350 ft (106.7 m) to 375 ft (114.3 m) above mean sea level datum.