Anderson Dam: Project to drain Santa Clara County’s largest reservoir begins Thursday
By The Mercury News, 9/29/20
Santa Clara County’s largest reservoir will soon be nearly empty, and will stay that way for the next 10 years. Under orders from federal dam regulators, the Santa Clara Valley Water District will begin a project to drain Anderson Reservoir on Thursday, the first step in a $576 million effort to tear down and rebuild its aging dam. The 240-foot earthen dam, built in 1950 and located east of Highway 101 between Morgan Hill and San Jose, poses too great of a risk of collapse during a major earthquake, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates dams, concluded in February when it issued the order. During construction, Anderson Lake County Park will remain closed to boating and fishing. A few trails and day use picnic areas, mostly downstream of the dam along Coyote Creek, will remain open, but the main parking lot and boat ramp area will be off limits, probably until 2030.
