Friday Top of the Scroll: AP analysis finds growing number of poor, high-hazard dams
Constructed four generations ago, the massive rock and clay dam at El Capitan Reservoir is capable of storing over 36 billion gallons of water, enough to supply every resident in San Diego for most of a year. Today, it’s three-quarters empty, intentionally kept low because of concerns it could fail under the strain of too much water. … Seismic instability and a spillway in need of “significant repair” led El Capitan to be added to a growing list of dams rated in poor condition or worse that would likely cause deaths downstream if they failed.
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