Photograph by George Sakkestad
Water spilled over the Lexington Reservoir spillway during the recent storms. Meanwhile work continues on the dam crest.
By Shari Kaplan
The Santa Clara Valley Water District's improvements and modifications to Lexington Reservoir and adjacent areas are proceeding as planned and should be finished by August 1997. Much of the 12-month plan, which began in August 1996, is already complete, according to water district public information representative Mike DiMarco.
The crest of the 195-foot earth-fill dam has been raised approximately 412 feet, enabling the dam to safely contain greater amounts of floodwaters--should the need arise--and discharge them through the spillway and into Los Gatos Creek. The dam crest has fallen over the years, DiMarco explained, owing to earth-fill settlement and subsidence from earthquakes and simply the passage of time.
This winter's recent storms, which concluded around New Year's Day, marked the first time this season that dam waters rose enough to cascade down the spillway.
Alma Bridge Road, which takes drivers across Lexington Reservoir, has been resurfaced as part of the plan, and the Los Gatos Creek Trail has been extended to join Lexington Trail instead of ending at the dam.
Work crews also created a wide, paved diagonal trail across the dam face that is less steep for hikers and bicyclists--the 20 percent grade is now 12 1/2 percent. A safety fence is also in place in case trail users or bikers lose their footing. Previously, some hikers or bicyclists used dirt or gravel service roads to get over and around the reservoir.
The last major improvement to the dam is raising the spillway chute walls an additional two or three feet, DiMarco said. The spillway chute directs water into Los Gatos Creek, rather than letting water trickle over the top of the dam, which could ultimately damage the dam.
Although there is nothing wrong with the current chute walls, the water district wants to ensure that the spillway can handle the same amount of increased floodwaters they have prepared the dam crest to handle.
A final step of the plan is a revegetation program. Native and non-invasive plants and grasses will be planted, and an irrigation system will be installed around the hillsides and the places that were cleared in order to pave and widen trails.
When all work is done by the end of this summer, DiMarco said, the dam will be dedicated in honor of James Lenihan, who served as director of the water district for 37 years.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, January 15, 1997.
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