Visited on 9/15/2018,
during a visit to the San Diego area proctoring Drinking Water Operator Certification
examinations after the exams I visited two lakes southeast of downtown San
Diego. Lower Otay Reservoir is a 1,110
surface acre reservoir at an elevation of 381 feet above sea level located
southeast of Chula Vista, California. Lower Otay is in the rolling chaparral covered hills with 13 miles of shoreline. It is flanked by Otay County Open Space
Preserve in the San Ysidro Mountains on the east. The reservoir is formed by impounding the
waters of the Otay River, behind Savage Dam, completed in 1918, and is also the
terminus for the San Diego Aqueduct, which transports imported water from the
Colorado River. The dam and reservoir are owned by the City of San Diego.
In 1897, the first
Lower Otay Dam was completed by the Southern California Mountain Water Company.
The Lower Otay Reservoir was connected to the City of San Diego's water system
in 1906 via the Bonita Pipeline. The
original dam gave way in January 1916 following heavy rains which affected most
of Southern California flooding the Otay Valley with a wall of water ranging
from 20 to 100 feet in height during the event, killing more than 14 people.
The flood swept away entire farms and buildings, including the Montgomery
residence at Fruitland near the mouth of the river, where John J. Montgomery
had built his initial series of manned glider designs. The rains were
ostensibly the work of the "rainmaker" Charles Hatfield, who had been
hired by the City of San Diego to assist in increasing rainfall to fill nearby
Morena Reservoir. He was never charged with any crimes. The dam was rebuilt in
1918 and renamed Savage Dam. The Lower Otay reservoir serves as a terminal
reservoir for a significant sized watershed, imported water aqueducts and a
source of local water for the Otay Drinking Water Treatment Plant. For these
reasons, the reservoir intentionally operates at a higher capacity level than
many of the other City reservoirs which are used primarily for storage and rely
on local rain and snow runoff.
The reservoir is the
home of the United States Olympic Training center for rowing sports.
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