Loveland Dam (also called Sweetwater Falls Dam) is a dam across the Sweetwater River in San Diego County, California. The dam forms the long, narrow Loveland Reservoir, which stores 25,387 acre-feet (31,314,000 m3) of water.[1] It is operated primarily for flood control and municipal water storage in conjunction with downstream Sweetwater Dam. The reservoir is also open to the public for fishing.[2]
| Loveland Dam | |
|---|---|
 Loveland Dam, 2011 | |
| Country | United States |
| Location | San Diego County, California |
| Coordinates | 32°46′54″N 116°47′39″W / 32.78167°N 116.79417°W |
| Status | In use |
| Opening date | 1945 |
| Owner(s) | Sweetwater Authority |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Concrete thin arch |
| Impounds | Sweetwater River |
| Height | 203 ft (62 m) |
| Length | 765 ft (233 m) |
| Spillways | 1 |
| Spillway type | Uncontrolled over-the-crest |
| Spillway capacity | 62,000 cu ft/s (1,800 m3/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Loveland Reservoir |
| Total capacity | 25,387 acre⋅ft (31,314,000 m3) |
| Catchment area | 98 sq mi (250 km2) |
| Surface area | 454 acres (184 ha) |
The dam stands 203 feet (62 m) high and spans 765 feet (233 m) across the narrow gorge of the Sweetwater River, 2.4 miles (3.9 km) south of Alpine. It is built entirely of concrete and has a thin arch design. Loveland Dam is the younger of the two dams on the Sweetwater River; the other, Sweetwater Dam, was built in 1888, while Loveland was constructed in 1945.[3]
The dam is named after Chester H. Loveland, president of the California Water and Telephone Corporation, the firm that built it.[4] The Loveland Reservoir is considered a better water storage facility than Sweetwater because of its much smaller surface area (454 acres compared to 960) and comparable capacity, thus it is less vulnerable to evaporation.[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Sweetwater Authority Reservoir Levels". Sweetwater Authority. Archived from the original on 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
- ^ "Lake Loveland, southeast California". FindLakes. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
- ^ "Loveland Reservoir". Sweetwater Authority. Archived from the original on 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
- ^ Fetzer, Leland (2005). San Diego County Place Names A to Z. San Diego: Sunbelt Publications. p. 85.
- ^ Reynolds, Richard A. (2008-08-02). "Sweetwater Dam: Then and Now" (PDF). (original not found). Retrieved 2011-01-20.[permanent dead link]
External links
edit
 | This San Diego County, California–related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |