Orange County Branch Newsletter

June 2018

Environmental and Water Resources Institute

Technical Tour of the Prado Dam

By Remi Candaele M.S., P.E.



The ASCE OC EWRI Committee was invited by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to tour the Prado Dam.  A group of 30 attendees was received by Jon Sweeten, Civil Engineer with the Reservoir Regulation Section.  Jon contributes to the management of the Santa Ana River system that includes Prado Dam near Corona, and the Seven Oaks Dam northeast of Yucaipa. 

John Sweeten (USACE) discussing the improvements of Prado Dam

John Sweeten welcomed the attendees and shared the history of the dam: how it was constructed in 1941, and serves as the primary flood control facility that protects much of the Santa Ana Region in Orange County.  Because of the growing urbanization, sediment accumulation, and the necessity by OCWD to store additional water in response to the drought, the embankment has recently been raised by 28.4 feet to 594.4 feet NGVD29.  Upon acquiring facilities that are within the inundation area, the spillway will also be raised.

Prado Dam looking downstream

The ASCE OC EWRI Committee would like to thank John Sweeten for the insightful technical.  Additional acknowledgments to the EWRI Committee (Roger Chung, Jennifer Marks, Ben Smith) for welcoming the attendees. 

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