Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Rains worsen San Diego's most dangerous dam

Lake Hodges reservoir near Rancho Santa Fe built in 1918

The water level had to be lowered about 18 feet.
The water level had to be lowered about 18 feet.

Lake Hodges Dam has received the state's worst possible safety rating, leaving the city with another delay in making repairs some say are decades overdue.

Last month, the state's Division of Safety of Dams downgraded its condition from poor to unsatisfactory due to seismic issues, rating the hazard "extremely high." The 105-year-old city dam is at the end of its lifespan. The discovery of new defects are outpacing the city's ability to make repairs.

Over 10 percent of dam failures occur when dams are 100 years or older.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Since Hodges Dam was built on the San Dieguito River in 1918, homes, roads and businesses have arrived, and climate change keeps upping the threat to communities below the dam like Solana Beach and Rancho Santa Fe. An "extremely high" hazard rating is given when the population at risk is 1,000 persons or more.

Hodges reservoir impounds drinking water to serve the city of San Diego, the San Dieguito Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District and San Diego County Water Authority.

Lake Hodges inundation map

Other San Diego water supply dams that have been downgraded since 2019 - when Hodges went from Fair to Poor – include the high-hazard dams at El Capitan and Morena reservoirs, now restricted to holding less than half their capacities, and the dam at Lower Otay Reservoir, which has not been restricted.

The city has been working on repairs since last May – efforts they hoped would prevent the downgrading. Instead, the state called for emergency repairs, and a lowering of the reservoir to 280 feet to protect surrounding communities in the event of dam failure.

Ongoing repairs included defects in the upstream face of the dam wall that needed sealing. To make repairs, the water level of the reservoir had to be lowered about 18 feet which in August revealed a new problem: a hole. Then they found more cracks and concrete defects that extended the timeline, closure of recreation and lowered water levels.

According to the city, their own assessments and consultation with the California Division of Safety of Dams show Hodges is not a safety threat because the reduced water level and lower volume relieves pressure on the dam. Because of recent heavy rains, the city has been releasing water and monitoring the levels daily.

"Hodges Dam remains safe with the water level below its maximum water level."

Problems with the ailing dam go beyond public safety. Closure of the lake has put a halt to boating and other recreation the reservoir is known for and angered customers of the Santa Fe Irrigation District, who on April 1 faced a rate hike.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

"Christmas Berry" is decorating our landscape, Longest meteor shower of the year

Full "cold moon," extremely high tides
The water level had to be lowered about 18 feet.
The water level had to be lowered about 18 feet.

Lake Hodges Dam has received the state's worst possible safety rating, leaving the city with another delay in making repairs some say are decades overdue.

Last month, the state's Division of Safety of Dams downgraded its condition from poor to unsatisfactory due to seismic issues, rating the hazard "extremely high." The 105-year-old city dam is at the end of its lifespan. The discovery of new defects are outpacing the city's ability to make repairs.

Over 10 percent of dam failures occur when dams are 100 years or older.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Since Hodges Dam was built on the San Dieguito River in 1918, homes, roads and businesses have arrived, and climate change keeps upping the threat to communities below the dam like Solana Beach and Rancho Santa Fe. An "extremely high" hazard rating is given when the population at risk is 1,000 persons or more.

Hodges reservoir impounds drinking water to serve the city of San Diego, the San Dieguito Water District, Santa Fe Irrigation District and San Diego County Water Authority.

Lake Hodges inundation map

Other San Diego water supply dams that have been downgraded since 2019 - when Hodges went from Fair to Poor – include the high-hazard dams at El Capitan and Morena reservoirs, now restricted to holding less than half their capacities, and the dam at Lower Otay Reservoir, which has not been restricted.

The city has been working on repairs since last May – efforts they hoped would prevent the downgrading. Instead, the state called for emergency repairs, and a lowering of the reservoir to 280 feet to protect surrounding communities in the event of dam failure.

Ongoing repairs included defects in the upstream face of the dam wall that needed sealing. To make repairs, the water level of the reservoir had to be lowered about 18 feet which in August revealed a new problem: a hole. Then they found more cracks and concrete defects that extended the timeline, closure of recreation and lowered water levels.

According to the city, their own assessments and consultation with the California Division of Safety of Dams show Hodges is not a safety threat because the reduced water level and lower volume relieves pressure on the dam. Because of recent heavy rains, the city has been releasing water and monitoring the levels daily.

"Hodges Dam remains safe with the water level below its maximum water level."

Problems with the ailing dam go beyond public safety. Closure of the lake has put a halt to boating and other recreation the reservoir is known for and angered customers of the Santa Fe Irrigation District, who on April 1 faced a rate hike.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Andrew Peña, Frankie J, Beat Farmers, Jesse LaMonaca, Puddles Pity Party

Latin, roots rock, and pity parties in Mission Beach, Little Italy, El Cajon
Next Article

How to make a hit Christmas song

Feeling is key, but money helps too
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader