Prado Dam

The Prado Dam is a rock-fill dam on the Santa Ana River near Corona, California in Riverside County. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built the dam in Lower Santa Ana River Canyon. Its primary purpose is flood control and it is the downstream element of the Santa Ana River's flood control system, which is a natural constriction about convert|30.5|mi|km upstream from the ocean. The area upstream from the dam contains convert|2255|sqmi|km2 of the watershed's convert|2450|sqmi|km2. The dam's construction was authorized in 1936 and the flood of 1938 demonstrated its necessity. Construction was completed in 1941. As of 2005 work to increase the downstream channel's capacity from 5,000 to 30,000 cubic feet per second is ongoing. The total costs of the improvements is estimated at $400 million. Prado Dam also provides water storage for groundwater recharge operations.

On January 14, 2005, water began seeping through an earthen extension. Authorities released water in order to relieve pressure and sent a flood warning to areas downriver of the dam. Over 3,000 residents were evacuated from their homes for nearly twenty-four hours for fear of flooding. Local Corona High School's gymnasiam was converted by the American Red Cross into a temporary shelter. The possible dam break made national headlines.

External links

* [http://www.spl.usace.army.mil/Pradodam/pradodam.htm U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Prado Dam]
* [http://www.spl.usace.army.mil/resreg/htdocs/prdo.html U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Dam Data]
* [http://www.spl.usace.army.mil/resreg/htdocs/SevenOaks/SOAK_WCM_2003/Ch4_2.0.pdf U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Seven Oaks Dam]
* [http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&z=15&ll=33.889156,-117.640615&spn=0.026149,0.057421&t=h&om=1 Google Map - Prado Dam]