San Pablo Reservoir
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The San Pablo Reservoir is an open cut terminal water storage reservoir owned and operated by the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD). It is located in a valley north of Orinda, California and south of El Sobrante, California, east of the Berkeley Hills. The earthen dam, built in 1919, is located at the El Sobrante end of the reservoir, above Kennedy Grove. The reservoir has a total capacity of 38,600 acre-feet, and a watershed of 23.37 square miles. The San Pablo Dam Road runs along the west side of the reservoir. EBMUD's Briones Reservoir is in the hills southeast of the San Pablo Reservoir.
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[edit] Recreation
EBMUD owns and maintains the San Pablo Reservoir Recreation Area, which consists of boating and fishing access to the reservoir itself, and some watershed land on the west side of the reservoir. The recreation area is managed under contract by Urban Parks Concessionaires (UPC) and includes a restaurant – The San Pablo Grill - and gift shop, where fishing permits can be purchased and boats can be rented. There are picnic areas available, a children’s play area and a boat launch ramp.
Because this reservoir is a storage facility for drinking water, swimming and wading is prohibited. Fishing, boating, and canoeing are allowed. However, to reduce the possibility of gasoline components in the reservoir, only four-cycle engines using MTBE-free gasoline are allowed.
There is a 5 ½ mile long hiking and biking trail along the west side of the reservoir. Most of this trail is on the Old San Pablo Dam Road, replaced in the 1950s by the current San Pablo Dam Road. It is not possible to legally circumnavigate the reservoir on hiking trails. While there are trails on the east side of the reservoir to accommodate a circumnavigation, they are off limits even to people with EBMUD Trail Permits, and the roadway on top of San Pablo Dam is similarly restricted.
Many anglers fish on the reservoir for smallmouth bass, white sturgeon, bluegill and crappie, along with the regularly planted trout and catfish.
[edit] Seismic Retrofit
In October 2004, a study commissioned by EBMUD concluded that a major earthquake on the Hayward Fault could cause the San Pablo Dam to settle as much as 35 feet. As a short-term measure, the District has lowered the reservoir level by 20 feet to create a 35-foot buffer.[1][2]
Current plans are to seismically upgrade the dam without taking it out of commission. Once all of the construction permits have been obtained and funding secured, construction is scheduled to take about two years.[3]
[edit] References
- ^ San Pablo Dam Vulnerable to Earthquake, EBMUD Press Release, October 27, 2004
- ^ Water Level Lowered at Reservoir, Lee, Henry K., San Francisco Chronicle, October 28, 2004
- ^ Public Notice of Application to Fill Wetlands, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, December 22, 2006
