Plan for Lake Hodges dam in question after cost jump

ESCONDIDO, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) -- The robust plan to start rebuilding Lake Hodges dam has come to a screeching halt as a new cost analysis has just jumped from $275 million to between roughly $500 million and $700 million.

Now, the San Diego Water Authority says they will no longer cover their promised half of the repairs, and the City of San Diego is now weighing alternatives to repairing the 106-year-old dam.

“Multiple arches and buttresses, you’re trying to have fail safes where stress gets passed from one area to another, make it last forever, however the ravages of time wreak their havoc,” said Pat Abbott, a geological professor from SDSU.

Lake Hodges has been an emergency water supply for San Diego since World War I. Now with the State deeming the dam unsafe to operate in its current condition, 12 billion gallons of water has been released and uncertainty to this manmade lake is in the air.

“Everything we build ultimately needs these repairs, but when we get down to what it is that we’ve had for well over a century, it’s the kind of thing we have to have,” Abbott said.

Abbott says Lake Hodges has played a critical role in San Diego’s history.

“Precious assets, things that need to be maintained for quality of life, and somehow or other, we are not getting enough of them done in San Diego,” Abbott said.  

FOX 5/KUSI reached out to the City of San Diego for comment, and they sent this statement:

"In light of the changed position of SDCWA and the updated cost estimate, the City of San Diego will evaluate potential alternatives to full replacement to ensure that ratepayer dollars are used effectively while maintaining downstream safety. All alternatives will be thoroughly evaluated, and there is no current plan to close Hodges."