Dam Failure Case Study: Baldwin Hills Dam (California, 1963)

DamFailures.Org is an ASDSO project that provides individual dam failure case studies and lessons learned as a resource for dam safety engineers, dam operators, owners, regulators, managers, academia and students to help prevent future incidents.

The Baldwin Hills Reservoir was constructed in 1951 to provide water to the south and southwest portions of the city of Los Angeles, California. Sitting atop one of the tallest hills in the region, the reservoir was confined on three sides by compacted earth dikes and the Baldwin Hills Dam on the northern fourth side. The Baldwin Hills Dam reached a height of 232 feet and stretched a total of 650 feet in length. At 3:38 P.M. on December 14, 1963, the Baldwin Hills Dam breached releasing a majority of the reservoir’s 250 million gallons of stored water. The sudden release resulted in the death of five people and approximately $11 million in property damage.