The Santa Fe Irrigation District and San Dieguito Water District have filed a lawsuit against the City of San Diego over alleged “negligent” maintenance on the Lake Hodges Dam. The aging dam underw…
The city of San Diego identified areas in the Lake Hodges Dam wall that needed to be repaired and sealed early in 2022. The water level of the reservoir was lowered approximately 18 feet, to an elevation of 275 feet to access those areas. The dam, built as a multiple arch design, was completed in 1918, and purchased by the City of San Diego in 1925. Photo by John Gastaldo for the Union-Tribune.
“Litigation was not the path that our district wanted to take, but we were left with no choice by the City of San Diego,” said Michael Hogan, SFID board president in the news release. “If they had been the responsible owner of the dam, lived up to their contractual obligations, and engaged in meaningful discussions with us over the years about maintenance or lack thereof, and their potential solutions, we would not be moving forward with this lawsuit.
The California Division of Dam Safety rated the condition of the dam as “unsatisfactory” and ordered a height restriction, lowering the lake level until permanent repairs or a new dam was completed. According to the press release, over the last two years the city has released over an estimated 17,000 acre-feet, or 5.5 billion gallons, of the districts’ water into the ocean, equaling an approximate loss of $21 million or the equivalent of two years of water supply.
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