Lake Hodges at 95 percent capacity. Will heavy rain spill water over dam for first time since 2005?
Lawdy, miss clawdy, that sucker is going over the top and down into the Santa Fe Valley this week...
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Lake Hodges nears capacity. Will water spill over dam this week for first time since 2005? Officials Monday, Feb. 14 said the lake's water level stood at 113.6-feet, more than 95 percent full. Water continued to flow into the lake Tuesday from the watershed that extends through Julian. And now this, RAIN RAIN RAIN THROUGH SATURDAY, THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAYS...)
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN DIEGO CA
813 PM PST TUE FEB 15 2011
CAZ042-043-048-050-055>058-060>062-161400-
ORANGE COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-SAN DIEGO COUNTY COASTAL AREAS-
SAN BERNARDINO AND RIVERSIDE COUNTY VALLEYS-THE INLAND EMPIRE-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY VALLEYS-SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-
RIVERSIDE COUNTY MOUNTAINS-SANTA ANA MOUNTAINS AND FOOTHILLS-
SAN DIEGO COUNTY MOUNTAINS-APPLE AND LUCERNE VALLEYS-
COACHELLA VALLEY-SAN DIEGO COUNTY DESERTS-
413 AM PST TUE FEB 15 2011
...PRECIPITATION FOR WEDNESDAY AND AGAIN LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY...
PATCHY LIGHT RAIN IS EXPECTED TODAY AND THE LIGHT RAIN WILL EXPAND
TONIGHT. A STEADIER RAIN...HEAVY AT TIMES...WILL OCCUR ON WEDNESDAY
AND CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING....
RAINFALL AMOUNTS WILL RANGE FROM AROUND ONE QUARTER TO THREE
QUARTERS OF AN INCH ALONG THE COAST AND INLAND VALLEYS WITH LOCALLY
UP TO 1 INCH. LOCAL AMOUNTS OF 1 TO 2 INCHES ARE POSSIBLE IN HEAVIER RAIN BANDS...
A BREAK IN THE WEATHER WILL OCCUR FOR THURSDAY AND THURSDAY NIGHT.
(Photo: Lake Hodges Reservoir at estimated 95 percent capacity, close to the top of its dam two weeks ago.)
What's the opposite of going viral? Apparently, the prospect of Lake Hodges overflowing its dam again for the first time since February 2005.
Lake Hodges is oh so everfriggin' close to spilling over its dam. Moderate to heavy rain through Saturday over Del Dios and the Lake Hodges basin that extends through Julian coulda/shoulda/woulda take the lake to the very top of the dam, and over, this week. Lawdy, miss clawdy, that sucker is going over the top and down into the Santa Fe Valley.
Six years ago when the lake reached similar heights, even before it topped the dam, people were flocking to the nearby bluffs to check out the unusual -- once or twice a decade -- event. On Sunday, there was me and you and a dog named Blue on them thar bluffs and not much else.
Lake Hodges Reservoir overflowed in February and March 2005 following the last episode of locally heavy, sustained rainfall. The lake had been only 20 percent full in October 2004, following years of drought. Prior to that, the lake overflowed in 1995 and in the early 1980s.
Each spillover event attracted thousands to the bluffs overlooking the dam.
The 2005 event turned the dam into one of San Diego County's leading tourist attractions for a month with pedestrians overflowing normally bustling Del Dios Highway turning it into a virtual parking lot.
The damage from December's pounding winter storms that drenched the area from December to early January cost the City of San Diego between $3 million and $6 million, according to estimates. When the larger storm subsided, San Diego continued to be hit by a series of smaller storms flooding the already saturated ground.
Hodges Reservoir was created with the building of Hodges Dam on San Dieguito Creek in 1918, according to a city history.
The City of San Diego purchased the dam and reservoir in 1925. Operated and maintained by the City of San Diego's Public Utilities Department, the reservoir currently serves the San Dieguito Water District and Santa Fe Irrigation District.
When full, the reservoir has 1,234 surface acres, a maximum water depth of 115 feet, and 27 shoreline miles. Hodges Reservoir has a water storage capacity of 30,251 acre feet. Water levels are monitored weekly.
In 2005, the San Diego County Water Authority, in conjunction with the City of San Diego, began a major pipeline project to connect Hodges Reservoir with Olivenhain Reservoir as part of the County Water Authority's Emergency Storage Project. The connection will provide the ability to store 20,000 acre feet of water at Hodges Reservoir for emergency use. The project was scheduled for completion in late 2010.
