DID YOU KNOW?
by Shawna Anderson
Spring 2002

IS IT STILL A LAKE?

It's an alarming sight: where there used to be water there is now a "forest" of willows and other trees with no water in sight. Of course I'm talking about the low water level at Lake Hodges as seen from Interstate 15. Many concerned citizens have called the River Park asking about the low lake level.   It is true that the water level is quite low and in fact it hasn't been this low since about 1990.   However, water level data going back 50 years shows water levels have been even lower throughout the 1950s, '60s, and '70s. The elevation of the spillway is 315 feet above mean sea level ( msl) when water spills over the dam; Lake Hodges has spilled 13 times in the past 50 years.   This shouldn't be confused with the depth of the lake which is 115 feet at its maximum level.   Currently the water level at Lake Hodges is at 285 feet msl, but historically it has gotten much lower than that. Because Lake Hodges is filled solely by rainfall and runoff, the lake level fluctuates widely. The historical graph depicted below shows this fluctuation for the past two decades.   Water levels at Lake Hodges were high through most of the 1990s but have decreased since 1999 due to low rainfall in the past few years.  

Built in 1918, Hodges Reservoir is designed to hold 37,700 acre-feet of water.   It has been owned and operated by the City of San Diego since 1926. Water is drawn from Lake Hodges by the San Dieguito Water District and Santa Fe Irrigation District via an open flume that connects Lake Hodges to the San Dieguito Reservoir under a long-standing agreement that has been in place since the City purchased the reservoir.   According to City of San Diego records, the two water districts have been removing water over the last five years at a fairly steady rate of about 9,000 acre-feet per year, not enough to substantively affect water levels in the reservoir.

Lake levels at Lake Hodges will be regulated once the San Diego County Water Authority implements the Emergency Storage Project (ESP) at Lake Hodges.   This major project is already underway and includes a system of reservoirs, interconnected pipelines and pumping stations to improve water storage and distribution in the case of an emergency such as an earthquake or drought.   One of the components of the Emergency Storage Project is to connect Lake Hodges to a new reservoir currently under construction called Olivenhain Reservoir and to operationally regulate Lake Hodges by transferring water between the two reservoirs.   Water levels at Lake Hodges will be drawn down prior to winter rains to increase storage capacity and then maintained at a higher level by importing water for emergency storage.   This phase of the ESP is to be completed between 2004 and 2008.   Lake levels will then be consistently held at between 296 feet msl and 311 feet msl with fewer fluctuations.   For more information about the ESP call the San Diego County Water Authority toll-free number at 877-426-2010 or look at their website www.sdcwa.org.

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