| Sweetwater Dam | |
|---|---|
 Sweetwater Dam and reservoir, May 2011 | |
  Location of Sweetwater Dam in California | |
| Country | United States of America |
| Location | San Diego County, California |
| Coordinates | 32°41′29″N 117°00′29″W / 32.69139°N 117.00806°W |
| Status | In use |
| Construction began | 17 November 1886 |
| Opening date | 7 April 1888 |
| Construction cost | $234,074.11 |
| Owner(s) | Sweetwater Authority |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Concrete gravity-arch |
| Impounds | Sweetwater River |
| Height | 108 ft (33 m) |
| Length | 700 ft (210 m) |
| Width (crest) | 25 ft (7.6 m) |
| Width (base) | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Spillway type | 7x gate-controlled, service + uncontrolled emergency spillway |
| Spillway capacity | 45,000 cu ft/s (1,300 m3/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Sweetwater Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 28,079 acre⋅ft (34,635,000 m3) |
| Catchment area | 180 sq mi (470 km2) |
| Surface area | 960 acres (390 ha) |
| Power Station | |
| Hydraulic head | 90 ft (27 m) |
| Installed capacity | None |
Sweetwater Dam is a dam across the Sweetwater River in San Diego County, California. It is located approximately 12 miles (19 km) east of San Diego, 9 miles (14 km) and borders Bonita to the southwest and La Presa to the northeast. The 108-foot (33 m)-high masonry arch dam impounds 960-acre (390 ha) Sweetwater Reservoir.
The dam was first constructed in 1888 as part of a system of reservoirs on San Diego County rivers designed to provide water to irrigate crops along the coast and to supply the city of San Diego and its outlying towns. Over the next few decades the dam was raised and retrofitted several times from its original height of 60 feet (18 m). In 1916, a heavy flood caused both abutments of the dam to fail. The rest of the dam did not sustain heavy damage and it remains in use for flood control, water storage and recreation.