San Diego Aqueduct

San Diego Aqueduct
Coordinates33°18′N 117°06′W / 33.3°N 117.1°W / 33.3; -117.1
BeginsFirst Aqueduct
Colorado River Aqueduct
33°49′19″N 116°58′03″W / 33.821870°N 116.967520°W / 33.821870; -116.967520
Second Aqueduct
Casa Loma Canal Aqueduct
33°47′27″N 117°01′50″W / 33.790740°N 117.030487°W / 33.790740; -117.030487
EndsFirst Aqueduct
San Vicente Reservoir
32°55′13″N 116°56′26″W / 32.920401°N 116.940687°W / 32.920401; -116.940687
Second Aqueduct
Lower Otay Reservoir
32°36′28″N 116°55′40″W / 32.607857°N 116.927769°W / 32.607857; -116.927769
Official nameSan Diego Project
Maintained bySan Diego County Water Authority
Characteristics
Total length225.1 mi (362.3 km)
CapacityFirst Aqueduct
196 cu ft/s (5.6 m3/s)
Second Aqueduct
canal: 500 cu ft (14 m3)
pipeline 3: 250 cu ft (7.1 m3)
pipeline 4: 380 cu ft (11 m3)
History
Construction startFirst Aqueduct
pipeline 1: 1945
pipeline 2: 1952
Second Aqueduct
pipeline 3: 1957
pipeline 4: 1968
OpenedFirst Aqueduct
pipeline 1: 1947
pipeline 2: 1954
Second Aqueduct
pipeline 3: 1960
pipeline 4: 1971
Location
Map

The San Diego Aqueduct is a system of four aqueducts in the U.S. state of California, supplying about 70 percent of the water supply for the city of San Diego.[1] The system comprises the First and Second San Diego Aqueducts, carrying water from the Colorado River west to reservoirs on the outskirts of San Diego. The 70-mile (110 km) First Aqueduct consists of pipelines 1 and 2, which run from the Colorado River Aqueduct near San Jacinto, California, to the San Vicente Reservoir, approximately 15 miles (24 km) northeast of the city. Pipelines 3 and 4 make up the 94-mile (151 km) Second Aqueduct. Together, these four pipelines have a capacity of 826 cubic feet per second (23.4 m3/s). The smaller, 12.5-mile (20.1 km) Fallbrook-Ocean Branch branches from the First Aqueduct into Murray Reservoir. The La Mesa-Sweetwater Branch originates from the First Aqueduct, flowing into the Sweetwater Reservoir.[2]

  1. ^ Smith, Joshua Emerson (2021-02-05). "A $5-billion water project could drill through Anza-Borrego park. Is it a pipe dream?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2021-02-07. For decades, 95% or more of the region's water flowed through the water authority's connection with MWD. Today that share is down around 70%, with desalination and water recycling coming on line.
  2. ^ Bureau of Reclamation. "San Diego Project". Dataweb Database. U.S. Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on March 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-24.