BALDWIN HILLS RESERVOIR

The 'Baldwin Hills Reservoir' was a man-made water storage basin located on a low hilltop in Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California. It was constructed between 1947 and 1951 by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power on a small active fault line. The design consisted of four layers above the rock foundation: an asphalt lining, a gravel drain basin, compacted clay, and a final asphalt layer on the top. The fault lines were considered during planning.

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Failure

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Failure

On December 14, 1963, a small crack developed in the reservoir wall. The surrounding portion of the wall was quickly eroded straight through, emptying 250 million gallons of water into the surrounding neighborhood in a few hours. In the process, 277 homes were destroyed and 5 lives were lost. Frantic rescue efforts avoided a more significant loss of life. The reservoir failure was attributed to subsidence caused by over-exploitation of the nearby Inglewood Oil Field.
The reservoir is now land and now part of Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.

External links

★ Ground Rupture in the Baldwin Hills

★ Man-made Subsidence

★ LA Times video footage of dam failure