Seven Oaks Dam
Encyclopedia
The Seven Oaks Dam is located on the Santa Ana River
, 4 miles (6 km) northeast of Redlands, California
. It was constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
as a flood control dam. The dam sits virtually on top of the San Andreas Fault
and is designed to withstand a magnitude
8.0 earthquake
.
Construction of the Seven Oaks Dam began in August 1994. When it was completed, the height of the dam was 550 ft (168 m) and was over 2,200 ft (670 m) wide at its base; 43,000,000 yd³ (33,000,000 m³) of earth and rock
were required to build it. It cost $250 million to construct and at the time of its completion in November 1999, and ranked as the 10th largest earthfill dam
in the United States
. Testing of the dam's high-pressure releases was finally accomplished in early 2011 after years of repairs, mishaps and drought.
The Seven Oaks Dam forms Seven Oaks Reservoir
, which has a capacity of 147970 acre.ft. The reservoir is used almost exclusively for flood control, and thus it is usually at a low level or completely dry. It has not yet reached capacity since the dam's construction; the highest water recorded was in March 2005, about 45000 acre feet or 30% of full pool. Controlled release of winter floodwaters from the dam also helps to recharge groundwater
in the San Bernardino
area.
Santa Ana River
The Santa Ana River is the largest river of Southern California in the United States. Its drainage basin spans four counties. It rises in the San Bernardino Mountains and flows past the cities of San Bernardino and Riverside, before cutting through the northern tip of the Santa Ana Mountains and...
, 4 miles (6 km) northeast of Redlands, California
Redlands, California
Redlands is a city in San Bernardino County, California, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 68,747, up from 63,591 at the 2000 census. The city is located east of downtown San Bernardino.- History :...
. It was constructed by the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
as a flood control dam. The dam sits virtually on top of the San Andreas Fault
San Andreas Fault
The San Andreas Fault is a continental strike-slip fault that runs a length of roughly through California in the United States. The fault's motion is right-lateral strike-slip...
and is designed to withstand a magnitude
Richter magnitude scale
The expression Richter magnitude scale refers to a number of ways to assign a single number to quantify the energy contained in an earthquake....
8.0 earthquake
Earthquake
An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. The seismicity, seismism or seismic activity of an area refers to the frequency, type and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time...
.
Construction of the Seven Oaks Dam began in August 1994. When it was completed, the height of the dam was 550 ft (168 m) and was over 2,200 ft (670 m) wide at its base; 43,000,000 yd³ (33,000,000 m³) of earth and rock
Rock (geology)
In geology, rock or stone is a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids.The Earth's outer solid layer, the lithosphere, is made of rock. In general rocks are of three types, namely, igneous, sedimentary, and metamorphic...
were required to build it. It cost $250 million to construct and at the time of its completion in November 1999, and ranked as the 10th largest earthfill dam
Dam
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Testing of the dam's high-pressure releases was finally accomplished in early 2011 after years of repairs, mishaps and drought.
The Seven Oaks Dam forms Seven Oaks Reservoir
Seven Oaks Reservoir
Seven Oaks Reservoir is a reservoir on the Santa Ana River in San Bernardino County, California, about northeast of the city of Redlands. The reservoir is formed by Seven Oaks Dam, which was completed in 1999....
, which has a capacity of 147970 acre.ft. The reservoir is used almost exclusively for flood control, and thus it is usually at a low level or completely dry. It has not yet reached capacity since the dam's construction; the highest water recorded was in March 2005, about 45000 acre feet or 30% of full pool. Controlled release of winter floodwaters from the dam also helps to recharge groundwater
Groundwater
Groundwater is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces and in the fractures of rock formations. A unit of rock or an unconsolidated deposit is called an aquifer when it can yield a usable quantity of water. The depth at which soil pore spaces or fractures and voids in rock...
in the San Bernardino
San Bernardino, California
San Bernardino is a city located in the Riverside-San Bernardino metropolitan area , and serves as the county seat of San Bernardino County, California, United States...
area.