| Loveland Dam | |
| Coordinates: | 32.7817°N -116.7942°W |
| Country: | United States |
| Location: | San Diego County, California |
| Status: | In use |
| Owner: | Sweetwater Authority |
| Dam Type: | Concrete thin arch |
| Dam Height: | 203feet |
| Dam Length: | 765feet |
| Dam Crosses: | Sweetwater River |
| Spillway Count: | 1 |
| Spillway Type: | Uncontrolled over-the-crest |
| Spillway Capacity: | 62000cuft/s |
| Res Name: | Loveland Reservoir |
| Res Capacity Total: | 25387acre.ft |
| Res Catchment: | 98mi2 |
| Res Surface: | 454acres |
Loveland Dam (also called Sweetwater Falls Dam) is a dam across the Sweetwater River in San Diego County, California. The dam forms long, narrow Loveland Reservoir which stores 25387acre.ft of water.[1] It is operated primarily for flood control and municipal water storage in conjunction with downstream Sweetwater Dam but the reservoir is also open to the public for fishing.[2]
The dam stands 203feet high and spans 765feet across the narrow gorge of the Sweetwater River, 2.4miles south of Alpine. It is built entirely of concrete and has a thin arch design. Loveland is the younger of the two dams on the Sweetwater River; the other, Sweetwater, was built in 1888 while Loveland was only constructed in 1945.[3] It is named after Chester H. Loveland, president of the California Water and Telephone Corporation, the firm that built it.[4] The Loveland Reservoir is considered a better water storage facility than Sweetwater because of its much smaller surface area (454 acres compared to 960) and comparable capacity, thus it is less vulnerable to evaporation.[5]