Dam Diverting More Water Than Expected

Thanks to several unexpectedly rainy seasons in recent years, the Freeman Diversion Dam is about to hit a landmark the United Water Conservation District hadn’t dreamed of reaching before the turn of the century.

At some point today, the dam is expected to divert its 500,000th acre-foot of water, according to district General Manager Fred Gientke. An acre-foot of water is enough to serve two families for a year. “As of yesterday it was at 498,300 acre-feet,” Gientke said. “We’re right there. It should happen by Thursday.”

The Freeman Diversion Dam, which spans the Santa Clara River near Saticoy, was finished in 1991. The water it diverts is spread out in settling basins, which absorb the water and replenish ground water supplies.

The basins range from three to five acres and absorb water quickly. Gientke said 12 feet of diverted river water will disappear into the ground within 24 hours. When the project was built, the district anticipated reaching the 500,000 acre-foot mark at the end of the decade. But better-than-average rainy seasons in 1992, 1993 and 1995 helped speed up the process. “It was luck,” Gientke said. “Normally it would have taken about nine years to divert this water.”