The Baldwin Hills Reservoir was a water storage basin located on a low hilltop in Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles, California. It was constructed between 1947 and 1951 by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power directly on an active fault line which was subsidiary to the well-known nearby Newport-Inglewood fault. The underlying geologic strata were considered unstable for a reservoir, and the design called for a compacted soil lining meant to prevent seepage into the foundation. The fault lines were considered during planning but were deemed by some, although not all, of the engineers and geologists involved as not significant.
On 14 December 1963, there were signs of lining failure followed by increasingly serious leakage through the dam at its east abutment. In three hours the dam breached, releasing altogether 250 million US gallons (950,000 m3) onto the surrounding neighborhood. In the process, 277 homes were destroyed and 5 lives were lost. Vigorous rescue efforts averted a greater loss of life.
The reservoir is now part of Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area.
Read more about Baldwin Hills Reservoir: Significance and Diagnoses of The Failure, Coverage
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