San Diego Aqueduct

San Diego Aqueduct
Coordinates33°18′N 117°06′W / 33.3°N 117.1°W / 33.3; -117.1
BeginsFirst Aqueduct
Colorado River Aqueduct
33°49′19″N 116°58′03″W / 33.821870°N 116.967520°W / 33.821870; -116.967520
Second Aqueduct
Casa Loma Canal Aqueduct
33°47′27″N 117°01′50″W / 33.790740°N 117.030487°W / 33.790740; -117.030487
EndsFirst Aqueduct
San Vicente Reservoir
32°55′13″N 116°56′26″W / 32.920401°N 116.940687°W / 32.920401; -116.940687
Second Aqueduct
Lower Otay Reservoir
32°36′28″N 116°55′40″W / 32.607857°N 116.927769°W / 32.607857; -116.927769
Official nameSan Diego Project
Maintained bySan Diego County Water Authority
Characteristics
Total length225.1 mi (362.3 km)
CapacityFirst Aqueduct
196 cu ft/s (5.6 m3/s)
Second Aqueduct
canal: 500 cu ft (14 m3)
pipeline 3: 250 cu ft (7.1 m3)
pipeline 4: 380 cu ft (11 m3)
History
Construction startFirst Aqueduct
pipeline 1: 1945
pipeline 2: 1952
Second Aqueduct
pipeline 3: 1957
pipeline 4: 1968
OpenedFirst Aqueduct
pipeline 1: 1947
pipeline 2: 1954
Second Aqueduct
pipeline 3: 1960
pipeline 4: 1971
Location

The San Diego Aqueduct is a system of four aqueducts in the U.S. state of California, supplying about 70 percent of the water supply for the city of San Diego. The system comprises the First and Second San Diego Aqueducts, carrying water from the Colorado River west to reservoirs on the outskirts of San Diego. The 70-mile (110 km) First Aqueduct consists of pipelines 1 and 2, which run from the Colorado River Aqueduct near San Jacinto, California, to San Vicente Reservoir, approximately 15 miles (24 km) northeast of the city. Pipelines 3 and 4 make up the 94-mile (151 km) Second Aqueduct. Together, these four pipelines have a capacity of 826 cubic feet per second (23.4 m3/s). The smaller, 12.5-mile (20.1 km) Fallbrook-Ocean Branch branches from the First Aqueduct into Murray Reservoir. The La Mesa-Sweetwater Branch originates from the First Aqueduct, flowing into Sweetwater Reservoir.