San Antonio Reservoir - Alameda County, California

Visited on 3/10/2019, Jeff and I took a drive with our pups, Summer and Skye to the San Francisco Bay Area to take a tour of all of the lakes in Contra Costa County and a couple in Alameda County.  Our fourth Lake we visited in the Bay Area was San Antonio Reservoir.  San Antonio Reservoir is located in Alameda County, California, about three miles east-southeast of Sunol.  It was built in 1964 by the City and County of San Francisco. Formed by the James H. Turner Dam across San Antonio Creek not far above where it flows into Alameda Creek, its purpose is to store water from the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct and local wells and watersheds. It has a surface size of 825 surface acres and is at an elevation of 463 feet above sea level.  Public access is considered trespassing, so we didn’t risk it and this is a stock photo.  

San Antonio Reservoir is located to the East of Fremont about 5 miles and north of San Jose.

Hetch Hetchy Reservoir - Tuolumne County, California

Visited on 9/21/2018, Jeff and I loaded up our dogs, Summer and Skye for a day adventure to the back country of Yosemite National Park.  We visited three lakes, two actually located within the National Park boundary and one in the adjacent Stanislaus National Forest of Northern California.  Hetch Hetchy was our first stop.  Just inside the Yosemite National Park boundary on the northwestern corner of the Park lies the beautiful and scenic Hetch Hetchy Reservoir.  The reservoir is located at 3,783 feet above sea level and is 1,200 acres in size and has a depth of 1,800 feet.  Hetch Hetchy is actually the name of a valley, a reservoir and a water system in California. The glacial Hetch Hetchy Valley lies in the northwestern part of Yosemite National Park and is drained by the Tuolumne River. For thousands of years before the arrival of settlers from the United States in the 1850s, the valley was inhabited by Native Americans who practiced subsistence hunting-gathering. During the late 19th century, the valley was renowned for its natural beauty – often compared to that of Yosemite Valley – but also targeted for the development of water supply for irrigation and municipal interests. John Muir, the founder and first President of the Sierra Club fought long and hard to keep this valley from being flooded, but ultimately lost the battle because of water demands for a growing City of San Francisco and the bay area.

In 1923, the O'Shaughnessy Dam was completed on the Tuolumne River, flooding the entire valley under the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir. The dam and reservoir are the centerpiece of the Hetch Hetchy Project, which in 1934 began to deliver water 167 miles west to San Francisco and its client municipalities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area.

Cherry Lake - Toulumne County, California

Visited on 9/21/2018, Jeff and I loaded up our dogs, Summer and Skye for a day adventure to the back country of Yosemite National Park.  We visited three lakes, two actually located within the National Park boundary and one in the adjacent Stanislaus National Forest of Northern California.  Cherry Lake is located just outside the Yosemite National Park boundary and was our second stop.  Cherry Lake (also known as Lake Lloyd) at an elevation of 4,660 feet above sea level, is an artificial lake in the Stanislaus National Forest of Tuolumne County, California, about 25 miles east of the city of Sonora. It is at an elevation of 4,700 feet on the western side of the Sierra Nevada, and lies just outside the western boundary of Yosemite National Park. The lake has a surface size of 1,535 acres and is formed by Cherry Valley Dam on Cherry Creek.

The East and West forks of Cherry Creek combine just a couple of miles before reaching the lake, while the North Fork joins the East Fork about 10 miles earlier. All three forks begin in the Emigrant Wilderness and all of them flow roughly southwest. The North Fork's source is Emigrant Lake, which is at an elevation of 8,800 feet. The East Fork's source is a couple of miles southwest of the Mono County line and flows into Huckleberry Lake several miles later. The East and North forks meet several miles downstream of the lake. There are no lakes on the West Fork. Eleanor Creek, which forms Lake Eleanor, flows into Cherry Creek several miles downstream from Cherry Valley Dam. Lake Eleanor is another Hetch Hetchy Project facility. Cherry Creek flows into the Tuolumne River several miles later.

The dam is composed of earth and rock-fill and has a height of 315 feet above the original streambed. It was built by San Francisco City and County and the Modesto Irrigation District and Turlock Irrigation District.  It was completed in 1956. The lake stores water for the Hetch Hetchy Project, which supplies drinking water to the San Francisco Bay Area, Modesto and Turlock districts. Recreation available at the lake includes, boating, skiing, swimming and fishing. Human contact with the water is allowed because the water has to be filtered anyway. Water from the lake powers the Dion R. Holm Power Plant, a 165 MW hydroelectric facility.

Lake Eleanor - Tuolumne County, California

Visited on 9/21/2018, Jeff and I loaded up our dogs, Summer and Skye for a day adventure to the back country of Yosemite National Park.  We visited three lakes, two actually located within the National Park boundary and one in the adjacent Stanislaus National Forest of Northern California.  Lake Eleanor is located just inside the Yosemite National Park boundary and was our third stop.  We were able to drive across the Cherry Lake Dam and proceed about 2 miles on a rough gravel road to the trailhead for Lake Eleanor, then we had to hike about a 1/2 mile to get a view of the lake.  Lake Eleanor is a reservoir located in the northwestern backcountry of Yosemite National Park at an altitude of 4,657 feet with a surface area of 953 acres.

The lake was formed in 1918 by damming Eleanor Creek as part of the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir system, constructed to supply water and power to the city of San Francisco. The original smaller, natural lake was also named "Eleanor" after the daughter of Josiah Whitney, leader of the California Geological Survey in the 1860s.

Lake Eleanor Dam stands as a concrete multiple arch dam with a height of 68 feet and a length of 1,260 feet. This first stage of the Hetch Hetchy project was built for year-round hydroelectric power generation, which was then sold to help finance construction of the larger O'Shaughnessy Dam, completed in 1923.

That dams were planned for a valley in Yosemite National Park caused significant opposition. One of the most potent opponents was the Sierra Club and its founding President, John Muir. After two vetoes by Teddy Roosevelt, on December 19, 1913, Woodrow Wilson signed the Raker Act permitting construction. It began in 1914.

The remote location dictated the use of an unusual multiple-arch structure here. It dramatically minimized the amount of concrete used in comparison with a gravity dam. Even more unusual, the concrete arches were elliptical rather than circular, the only multiple-arch dam ever built this way.  Chief designer for the San Francisco Board of Public Works Michael O'Shaughnessy, along with hydraulic structural engineer R.P. McIntosh, were primarily responsible for the design.

Still owned and operated by the city, the lake now provides opportunities for angling, hiking, and camping.

Lower Otay Reservoir - San Diego County, California

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.

Lake Wohlford - San Diego County, California

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.

 

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!