Loveland Dam

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.[1] 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.[2]

Loveland Dam
Loveland Dam, 2011
CountryUnited States
LocationSan Diego County, California
Coordinates32°46′54″N 116°47′39″W
StatusIn use
Opening date1945 (1945)
Owner(s)Sweetwater Authority
Dam and spillways
Type of damConcrete thin arch
ImpoundsSweetwater River
Height203 ft (62 m)
Length765 ft (233 m)
Spillways1
Spillway typeUncontrolled over-the-crest
Spillway capacity62,000 cu ft/s (1,800 m3/s)
Reservoir
CreatesLoveland Reservoir
Total capacity25,387 acre⋅ft (31,314,000 m3)
Catchment area98 sq mi (250 km2)
Surface area454 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 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.[3] It 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]

Aerial view of Loveland Reservoir from south

See also

References
  1. "Sweetwater Authority Reservoir Levels". Sweetwater Authority. Archived from the original on 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  2. "Lake Loveland, southeast California". FindLakes. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  3. "Loveland Reservoir". Sweetwater Authority. Archived from the original on 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2011-01-20.
  4. Fetzer, Leland (2005). San Diego County Place Names A to Z. San Diego: Sunbelt Publications. p. 85.
  5. Reynolds, Richard A. (2008-08-02). "Sweetwater Dam: Then and Now" (PDF). (original not found). Retrieved 2011-01-20.


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