Savage Dam is a dam across the

Otay River The Otay River () is a river in southern San Diego County, California. The river begins at San Miguel Mountain, flows through the Upper and Lower Otay Reservoirs, and continues on between the southern part of the Chula Vista and the Otay Mesa ...

in the

San Ysidro Mountains The San Ysidro Mountains are a mountain range in southern San Diego County, California and Baja California, Mexico. The mountains are a rugged coastal foothill range of the Peninsular Ranges system. Major peaks include the highest summit of the r ...

of southwestern

San Diego County San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the f ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

. It is a concrete arch gravity structure high, and serves to store water from the

San Diego Aqueduct The San Diego Aqueduct, or San Diego Project, is a system of four aqueducts in the U.S. state of California, supplying about 70 percent of the water supply for the city of San Diego. The system comprises the First and Second San Diego Aqueducts, ...

's third pipeline for backup municipal uses in the

San Diego metropolitan area San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 3,298,634, making it California's second-most populous county and the fi ...

. It is just over southeast of

Chula Vista Chula Vista (; ) is the second-largest city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the seventh largest city in Southern California, the fifteenth largest city in the state of California, and the 78th-largest city in the United States. The popu ...

and north of the

United States-Mexico border United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

. The dam is named in honor of H. N. Savage, who directed its construction. The dam was originally completed in 1897 as an earthfill and steel structure called the Otay Dam by the Southern California Mountain Water Company to provide water storage. However, in 1916, heavy rains supposedly brought on by

Charles Hatfield Charles Mallory Hatfield (July 15, 1875January 12, 1958) was an American "rainmaker". Early life Hatfield was born in Fort Scott, Kansas on July 15, 1875. His family moved to Southern California in the 1880s. As an adult, he became a salesman f ...

, a "rainmaker", hired by the city of San Diego to put an end to a drought, caused the dam to burst. The failure sent a wall of water high downstream, destroying buildings and bridges, and washing thousands of tons of sediment and wreckage into

San Diego Bay San Diego Bay is a natural harbor and deepwater port located in San Diego County, California near the U.S.–Mexico border. The bay, which is long and wide, is the third largest of the three large, protected natural bays on California's of ...

. Eleven

Japanese American are Americans of Japanese ancestry. Japanese Americans were among the three largest Asian American ethnic communities during the 20th century; but, according to the 2000 census, they have declined in number to constitute the sixth largest As ...

farmers were killed. The dam was rebuilt as Savage Dam in 1918, and has functioned properly since.

References

External links

cbs8.com; "WWII bomber brought to surface of lower Otay Reservoir"
{{San Diego County dams Dams in California Arch-gravity dams San Ysidro Mountains United States local public utility dams Buildings and structures in San Diego County, California Dams completed in 1918

See also

References

External links