Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir... Making History
Initial Fill
History was made on Aug. 6, 2003, as the first water flowed from the San Diego
County Water Authority's Second Aqueduct into the Olivenhain Reservoir. The
culmination of a decade of planning and construction, today's event is a major
milestone in completion of phase one of the Water Authority's Emergency Storage
Project. This first phase of the project included building the Olivenhain Dam,
Olivenhain pipelines, pump station and surge control pipe. At 318 feet tall,
the Olivenhain Dam is the largest roller-compacted concrete dam in North America.
Water Authority staff and representatives of the contracting firms that built
the dam were on hand to applaud as a gush of water poured from the bottom of
the dam's inlet/outlet structure. The flow will continue for the next several
days until the reservoir reaches the 30-foot level. The following 14 days will
be used to check the dam and the various operating systems to assure that everything
is working properly. The reservoir will continue to be filled in 30-foot increments
over the next eight-to 10 months until the full 24,000 acre-feet of water are
contained in the reservoir.
The Emergency Storage Project is a system of reservoirs, pipelines and pump
stations that will enable the Water Authority  to
store and move water around the county in the event of a prolonged disruption
of the region's imported water supply. The project will provide an additional
90,100 acre-feet of stored water.
Combined with the storage space already dedicated to emergency use, the additional
capacity is projected to meet the county's emergency needs through at least
2030. A severe water supply shortage would have debilitating consequences for
the San Diego region. The investment in the storage project will protect the
region's $126 billion economy, job base and quality of life for the county's
3 million residents for years to come.
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