San Vicente Dam reaches another construction milestone

The San Diego County Water Authority’s San Vicente Dam Raise project has reached another construction milestone, with the dam now at its full and planned height of 337ft.

The concrete gravity dam San Vicente Dam, located on the stream of San Vicente Creek near Lakeside in the city of San Diego, California, US, is being upgraded to improve the region’s water storage and distribution system.

Under the $450m project the height of the dam has been increased by 117ft from the original 220ft, to increase the capacity of the reservoir and add 152,000 acre-feet of water storage capacity which will sufficiently serve over 300,000 homes every year.

San Diego County Water Authority board of directors chairman Thomas V Wornham said the new dam will serve the region for years.

"It’s exactly the kind of strategic investment that we need to protect our region and its $186 billion economy from the devastating impact of water shortages caused by drought, regulatory cutbacks or a catastrophe that damages our water lifelines to the north," Wornham added.

The dam’s capacity has been increased to provide water to the residents of the region during emergency periods like dry years, earthquakes and other urgent disruptions.

The water at the reservoir will be shared between the city and the water authority.

Upon completion of the dam work, the scope of construction will include developing San Vicente Marina Facilities, Bypass Pipeline, and site restoration projects.

The dam is expected to be completed in 2013.

San Diego County Water Authority undertook the dam raise project as a part of its $1.5bn Emergency Storage Project, which aims to develop water conveyance and storage facilities to give the city a water supply of up to six months.

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Image: The San Vicente Dam in 1950. Photo: City of San Diego