Loveland Dam
| 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°WCoordinates: 32°46′54″N 116°47′39″W / 32.78167°N 116.79417°W[1] |
| 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) |
Loveland Dam (also called Sweetwater Falls Dam) is a dam across the Sweetwater River in San Diego County, California. The dam forms long, narrow Loveland Reservoir which stores 25,387 acre feet (31,314,000 m3) of water.[2] It is operated primarily for flood control and municipal water storage in conjunction with downstream Sweetwater Dam but the reservoir is also open to the public for fishing.[3]
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 is the younger of the two dams on the Sweetwater River; the other, Sweetwater, was built in 1888 while Loveland was only constructed in 1945.[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]
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Aerial view of Loveland Reservoir from south
See also
References
- ↑ "Lake Loveland 2020-002 Dam". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 1994-07-01. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
- ↑ "Sweetwater Authority Reservoir Levels". Sweetwater Authority. live. Retrieved 2011-01-20. Check date values in:
|date=(help) - ↑ "Lake Loveland, southeast California". FindLakes. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
- ↑ "Loveland Reservoir". Sweetwater Authority. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
- ↑ Reynolds, Richard A. (2008-08-02). "Sweetwater Dam: Then and Now". (original not found). Retrieved 2011-01-20.