Lake Hodges is a

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

and

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contr ...

located within the city limits of

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

. It is about north of

Downtown San Diego Downtown San Diego is the city center of San Diego, California, the eighth largest city in the United States. In 2010, the Centre City area had a population of more than 28,000. Downtown San Diego serves as the cultural and financial center and ...

, just north of the

Rancho Bernardo Rancho Bernardo is a master-planned community in the northern hills of the city of San Diego, California. Geography The topography of Rancho Bernardo consists of canyons and rolling hills that have large bedrock outcroppings. The major floral bio ...

community, and just south of the city's border with Escondido. When full, the reservoir has , a maximum water depth of , and of shoreline. Lake Hodges has a total capacity of 30,251 acre-feet of water. Lake Hodges is owned by the

city of San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, supplies water to th
San Dieguito Water District
an
Santa Fe Irrigation District
and its mailing city address is Escondido. Water level elevation in the lake is maintained at a maximum of above sea level, lower than the dam's maximum of

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

to ensure safe operations. The lake level can fluctuate significantly, depending upon the amount of runoff received from the San Dieguito River drainage basin.

Interstate 15 Interstate 15 (I-15) is a major Interstate Highway in the western United States, running through Southern California and the Intermountain West. I-15 begins near the Mexican border in San Diego County and stretches north to Alberta, Cana ...

crosses Lake Hodges via the Lake Hodges Bridge. Approximately west of the I-15 freeway bridge is a bicycle/pedestrian bridge which opened on May 15, 2009, and is the longest stressed ribbon bridge in the world.

Lake Hodges Dam

Lake Hodges Dam is a multiple-arch dam that sits on the San Dieguito River. It was commissioned by the Volcan Water Company and designed by

John S. Eastwood John Samuel Eastwood (1857, in Minnesota – 1924, in California) was an American engineer who built the world's first reinforced concrete multiple-arch dam on bedrock foundation at Hume Lake, California, in 1908, and was one of California's ...

. It was completed in 1918, and later purchased by the city of San Diego. Water from the Lake Hodges Reservoir services the customers of the Santa Fe Irrigation District and the San Dieguito Water District. The dam is 131 ft tall and 729 ft wide. In 2005, the

San Diego County Water Authority San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA) is a wholesale supplier of water to the roughly western third of San Diego County, California. The Water Authority was formed in 1944 by the California State Legislature. SDCWA serves 24 member agencies wi ...

, in conjunction with the

City of San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...

, began work on a pipeline to connect Hodges Reservoir with Olivenhain Reservoir. The project was completed in 2012. The connection provides the ability to store of water at Hodges Reservoir for emergency use. This system is also used to provide electrical power to the grid during high demand times of the day. Water is pumped from Lake Hodges to Olivenhain at night when demand (and rates) for electricity is low. It is then flowed back down through generators during peak demand times. In 2019 a

hypolimnetic aeration Via deep water aeration or hypolimnetic aeration, the oxygen demand of deep water is provided by oxygen from the atmosphere without destroying the lake’s natural stratification. Thus the deep water becomes aerobic, the dissolving of phosphate ...

system was installed at the site of the former Reservoir keeper's house with a Speece cone installed at the bottom of the lake between that location and Alva canyon. Following the 2017

Oroville Dam crisis In February 2017, heavy rainfall damaged Oroville Dam's main and emergency spillways, prompting the evacuation of more than 180,000 people living downstream along the Feather River and the relocation of a fish hatchery. Heavy rainfall during ...

, the state o
California
conducted spillway inspections on all dams in the state. Hodges Dam did not pass inspection and, as a result
San Diego Public Utilities Department
was ordered to keep the maximum level of the lake 20 feet below the spillway.

Recreation

Lake Hodges is a popular location for hiking, birding, fishing, kayaking, windsurfing, photography, and picnicking. It is surrounded by the hiking trails of th
San Dieguito River Park
and those trails are connected to the park'
65 miles of trails
The Audubon Society has proclaimed Lake Hodges and vicinity to be
Globally Important Bird Area
The ability to se
almost 200 bird species
attracts many birders as well as amateur and professional photographers. Fishing is allowed 9 months of the year an
near record sized

Largemouth Bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, ...

have been caught in the lake.

Environment

The riparian habitat around the lake is home to nesting

Least Bell's Vireo Bell's vireo (''Vireo bellii'') is a songbird that migrates between a breeding range in Western North America and a winter range in Central America. It is dull olive-gray above and whitish below. It has a faint white eye ring and faint wing bars ...

s - an endangered species. Two other endangered bird species - the

California Gnatcatcher The California gnatcatcher (''Polioptila californica'') is a small long insectivorous bird which frequents dense coastal sage scrub growth. This species was recently split from the similar black-tailed gnatcatcher of the Sonoran and Chihuahuan ...

and the

Cactus Wren The cactus wren (''Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus'') is a species of wren endemic to the deserts of the southwestern United States and northern and central Mexico. It is the state bird of Arizona, and the largest wren in the United States. ...

- can be found in the land around the lake. When water levels are up and remain consistent, a large number of

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

and

Clark's Grebe Clark's grebe (''Aechmophorus clarkii'') is a North American waterbird species in the grebe family. Until the 1980s, it was thought to be a pale morph of the western grebe, which it resembles in size, range, and behavior. Intermediates between t ...

s nest at the shallow eastern end of the lake. The pumping system can raise and lower the water level in the lake by quite a few inches every day. These fluctuations can cause floating grebe nests to be grounded, in which case they are abandoned by the parents who cannot get to them.https://lakehodgesphototours.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Report-on-the-Grebe-nesting-colonies-on-Lake-Hodges-in-2021-season.pdf The city has a volunteer program, managed b
Kayaking For The Birds
which has cleared and keeps cleared all available lakeshore of fishing line, fishing tackle, and litter which threaten birds and wildlife.

References

External links

Hodgee, the Lake Hodges Monster
Lake Hodges Scientific Research Center
Hodges Reservoir
- City of San Diego *
Lake Hodges Projects
via SDCWA.org {{authority control Hodges, Lake United States local public utility dams Hodges, Lake Hodges Geography of San Diego

Lake Hodges Dam

Recreation

Environment

See also

References

External links