Thursday, September 20, 2018

Lake Morena - San Diego County, California


Visited on 9/13/2018, 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 Morena and the Lake Morena County Park is a 1,475 surface acre reservoir that is a popular camping and fishing park located in East County San Diego. Because of its location – southwest of the Laguna Mountains – the park shows characteristics of desert, coastal, and mountain habitats. Lake Morena sits at an elevation of 3,000 feet.  It is the most remote reservoir in all of San Diego County.  Lake Morena is the highest and most remote of the city's nine reservoirs. Its dam dates to the late 19th century.
When full, the lake has a depth of 157 feet.  After the drawdown, plus loss to evaporation, the lake is now at 83.6 feet.  The City of San Diego uses this as a water supply to service the water demands of the public.

On the day I visited this reservoir the Park Ranger told me that the water level was at only 6% of capacity.  Even though it is late in the season….Wow, that is really low water level.
In 1916 the city of San Diego hired Charles Hatfield, a man known as the "Rainmaker", who had offered to fill Morena Reservoir at a cost of $10,000. Although the city council doubted his ability, Hatfield was hired and set to work "rainmaking" on January 1. By January 10, flooding rains began to fall throughout San Diego County. Rising at a peak rate of two feet per hour, Morena Reservoir filled and spilled on January 26, a mere 5 inches from the top of the dam. In the rest of the county, flooding washed out bridges, inundated neighborhoods and killed over 50 people. The city subsequently deemed the rains an "act of God" and determined that if Hatfield were to collect the fee for filling Morena reservoir he would also have to pay for the damages caused by the rains. Hatfield never took the money and left town!


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