Client: San Diego County Water Authority

4677 Overland Avenue

San Diego, CA 92123

Total Project Cost: $198 M

Substantially complete in late 2003, the multi-award-winning Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir is a component of the Emergency Storage Project (ESP) built to provide the San Diego region over 20,000 acre-feet of emergency water storage in a reservoir impounded by a roller-compacted concrete (RCC) dam.  With up to 318 feet in height, 2,552 feet in length and a crest width of 20 feet , Olivenhain Dam is the tallest RCC dam to be constructed in the United States and the first RCC dam to be permitted in California by the Division of Safety of Dams.  The direct involvement of G²D personnel on this important Southern California project began in 1994, when Dr. Gerald Iglesia himself oversaw the geotechnical investigations performed for the Water Authority during the feasibility study and planning phase of the ESP and Olivenhain Dam.

G²D has contributed significantly to the technical and management aspects of the Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir project.  For example, when construction bids for the major portion of the project all came in substantially higher than the dam designer’s estimate, G²D staff satisfactorily quantified the cost implications corresponding to various subsequent actions considered for possible adoption.  The timely, accurate, and graphical manner in which G²D staff presented the implications of the various scenarios considerably boosted the comfort levels of the client staff as they prepared to give their recommendations to their Board of Directors on how to proceed with the project.  G²D personnel also participated in the design review and coordination meetings on this dam project;   G²D staff co-authored a technical paper (Iglesia et al., 2002) that deals with a stability analysis of Olivenhain Dam using  a modified conventional approach.  Occasionally, G²D would be requested to support the Water Authority in the implementation of agreements with other parties;  G²D’s work in evaluating changed circumstances on the project has led to savings and/or credits to the client worth over $1.3 million.

G²D welcomes the addition (in 2005) to its organization — Dr. James L. Stiady, P.E., in the capacity of Senior Engineer.  During construction, Dr. Stiady was essentially in charge of the on-site materials testing and quality control laboratory, which was a key component of this highly successful project.  He was an active participant in the RCC mix design selection, quality control testing, quality control data management, and RCC mix performance evaluation.

Under Dr. Stiady’s direct supervision, quality control test procedures were developed for the Olivenhain Dam project, ensuring compliance with standard test procedures, maximizing personnel efficiency, and maintaining high test accuracy. He also developed a database and reporting system that efficiently managed thousands of quality control test data and enabled the generation of test reports in just a short time, using widely available Microsoft Office software.  Dr. Stiady eventually co-authored several technical papers relative to his work on this project.

The contributions of Dr. Iglesia and Dr. Stiady on the Olivenhain Dam and Reservoir project have, in various ways, been among the key elements to its success.  Any project where these two talented engineers are members of the same team, such as G²D, will clearly benefit from their active involvement and participation.