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Dam Safety Program

Introduction to EBMUD Dams

Dams are barriers built across waterways to create reservoirs. EBMUD manages 23 dams, with most of the water supply for its 1.4 million customers in the East Bay coming from Pardee Reservoir in the Mokelumne River watershed in the Sierra Nevada foothills.

Downstream of Pardee Dam and Reservoir is Camanche Dam and Reservoir, which stores water and provides flood control downstream.

In the East Bay, there are five local water supply reservoirs and 16 open-cut reservoirs that hold treated water. The local dams range from 15 feet to 345 feet tall and were built from the late 1800s through the late 1960s.

EBMUD's Dam Safety Program 

EBMUD has a comprehensive Dam Safety Program and takes a proactive approach to inspect, maintain, upgrade and improve its dams and water supply structures to prevent loss of life, personal injury and property damage from the failure of dams. In consultation with the regulatory agencies, EBMUD engineers monitor dams using instruments, conduct monthly visual inspections and perform periodic dam safety reviews. The safety of each dam is reevaluated with advances in geotechnical, structural and earthquake engineering and if there is evidence of seepage or ongoing ground movement. EBMUD performed detailed spillway assessments and continues to follow up with regular maintenance and improvements  to ensure performance for each upcoming rainy season.

Overseeing EBMUD dams

Most EBMUD dams are under the jurisdiction of the California Department of Water Resources  Division of Safety of Dams (DSOD). Pardee and Camanche Dams are also under the jurisdiction of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) because they produce hydropower. These regulatory agencies perform independent annual dam inspections. Upgrades to dams by EBMUD are done in consultation with, and approval from, DSOD and FERC. 

DSOD maintains a comprehensive listing of all regulated dams in the state at https://water.ca.gov/damsafety/ under the publication “Dams Within Jurisdiction of the State of California Listed Alphabetically by Name.”  Based on regulatory assessment, EBMUD’s dams are safe for continued operation. All but one of EBMUD’s dams are rated "satisfactory,” which is the highest rating. Lafayette Dam has a rating of “fair,” which is  the second-highest rating, due to the seismic vulnerability of its outlet tower and conduits. EBMUD will begin the Lafayette Reservoir Tower Safety Upgrade Project to address the seismic vulnerability, with construction through fall of 2027.

Dam replacement and seismic upgrade projects

EBMUD has and continues to replace local dams and reservoirs with water tanks to reduce maintenance costs, improve water quality and improve seismic reliability. Learn more about the seismic upgrades and replacement projects below: 

 

Seismic upgrade projects

Lafayette Reservoir Tower – Construction to begin fall 2025 

Briones Reservoir Inlet/Outlet Tower – Completed 2024 

Upper San Leandro Dam (USL) Outlet Tower – Completed 2018 

San Pablo Dam – Completed 2010 

 

Replacement projects 

Almond Reservoir – Castro Valley 

Central Reservoir  – Oakland 

39th Avenue Reservoir – Oakland 

San Pablo Clearwell Replacement & Water Treatment Plant Rehabilitation Project – Kensington 

South Reservoir – Castro Valley 

Summit Reservoir – Berkeley/Kensington 

Flood inundation maps for EBMUD reservoirs:

Flood inundation maps for EBMUD reservoirs

EBMUD prepares inundation maps to guide emergency management efforts. Inundation maps show the flooding that could result from a hypothetical failure of a dam or a critical appurtenant structure. EBMUD dams are considered safe, and failure of a dam is a highly unlikely event.

Approved maps for jurisdictional dams are published on the DSOD website: fmds.water.ca.gov/maps/damim. Additionally, some smaller dams are not governed by DSOD due to their size, and maps for these dams are accessible through the following links:

Claremont Dam 

Fay Hill Dam 

USL Clearwell Dam 

39th Avenue Main Dam 

39th Avenue Auxiliary Dam 

 

Contact Information

Community Affairs
Email: community@ebmud.com