| San Vicente Dam | |
|---|---|
 San Vicente Dam in 1950 | |
  Location of San Vicente Dam in California | |
| Location | Lakeside, San Diego County, California. |
| Coordinates | 32°54′44″N 116°55′28″W / 32.91222°N 116.92444°W |
| Status | Operational |
| Construction began | 1941 (original); 2009 (raising) |
| Opening date | 1943 (original); 2014 (raising) |
| Construction cost | $2.7 million USD (original); $396 million USD (raising) |
| Owner(s) | City of San Diego |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Concrete gravity |
| Impounds | San Vicente Creek |
| Height | 220 ft (67 m) (original); 337 ft (103 m) (raised) |
| Length | 980 ft (300 m) (original); 1,425 ft (434 m) (raised) |
| Spillway type | Ogee, uncontrolled |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | San Vicente Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 90,000 acre⋅ft (110,000,000 m3) (original); 249,358 acre⋅ft (307,579,000 m3) (raised) |
| Catchment area | 75 sq mi (190 km2)[1] |
| Surface area | 1,100 acres (4.5 km2) (original); 1,600 acres (6.5 km2) (raised) |
| Maximum water depth | 306 feet (93 m) (raised) |
The San Vicente Dam is a concrete gravity dam on San Vicente Creek near Lakeside and 25 km (15.5 mi) northeast of San Diego, California. The dam was built between 1941 and 1943 and created San Vicente Reservoir for the purpose of municipal water storage, flood control and recreation. Although the reservoir is fed by run-off, its main source is the First San Diego Aqueduct. In June 2009, construction to raise the height of the dam by 117 ft (36 m), in order to more than double its reservoir size, commenced. It is the largest dam raise in the United States and largest roller-compacted concrete dam raise in the world.[2][3] The dam raise project was originally set for the end of 2012,[3] but was completed in early 2014.[4] Efforts to replace the water supply pipelines and prepare the reservoir for the public will be underway until 2015–2017.[5]
- ^ Hill, Joseph (Winter 2002). "Dry Rivers, Dammed Rivers and Floods: An Early History of the Struggle Between Droughts and Floods in San Diego". The Journal of San Diego History. 48 (1). Retrieved 2010-07-28.
- ^ "San Vicente Dam Raise". San Diego County Water Authority. Archived from the original on 3 August 2010. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ a b Thomas O. Keller; Jeffrey A. Shoaf; Jim Zhou; Jesus M. Meda & Michael F. Rogers. "Raising San Vicente Dam: Why and How". Penn Energy. Retrieved 28 July 2010.
- ^ "Enhancing Water Supply Reliability". San Diego County Water Authority. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
- ^ "Water Authority Makes History at San Vicente Dam". San Diego County Water Authority. Retrieved 11 July 2014.