Visited on 9/14/2018, during a visit to the San Diego area proctoring Drinking Water Operator Certification examinations in the evening after the exams I explored several lakes in the area. Lake Wohlford is a 225 acre reservoir located in the hills just north of the City of Escondido at an elevation of 1,500 feet above sea level. In 1889, the Escondido Irrigation District was formed in order to augment local agricultural water supplies. During 1894 and 1895, the Escondido Canal was constructed to bring water from the San Luis Rey River basin and the original Lake Wohlford dam was constructed to store this supply. Due to financial difficulties, the Escondido Mutual Water Company was formed in 1904 to acquire and improve the facilities of the District. The improved Escondido Canal and enlarged Lake Wohlford thus provided the main supply to areas outside the city limits. The original dam was built in 1895 out of rock to store water from the San Luis Rey River via the Escondido Canal, which channeled water from Lake Henshaw to Lake Wohlford.
Nearly 30 years later
— after unprecedented rains in 1916 caused the lake to overflow, causing
devastating floods — the dam was enlarged and reinforced. Twenty-four feet was
added to its height using silt and sand, but the materials weren’t evenly
mixed.
That problem became
apparent in 2006, when seismic tests showed a temblor of 7.5 magnitude or
greater could crumble the newer part of the dam. Several delays due to funding has tabled the
construction project and by 2022 the Project will construct an earth-core
rockfill dam to replace the existing 114-year old Lake Wohlford Dam. Replacing
the dam will allow the City of Escondido to increase water levels within the
lake to its design capacity of 6,500 AF. In addition to addressing flood risks,
this project would provide water supply, water quality, and recreational
benefits associated with Lake Wohlford.
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