1963 – Dec 14, Baldwin Hills Reservoir Dam failure/flooding, Baldwin Hills, so. LA, CA– 5

–5 Assn. of State Dam Safety Officials. “Case Study: Baldwin Hills Dam (California, 1963).”
–5 Clarke. “The Johnstown Flood: the Worst Dam Failure in U.S. History…” ABC News, 2007.
–5 Wikipedia. “Baldwin Hills Reservoir.”
Breakout of Fatalities
–1 Carroll, Maurice, 60. Swept from Village Green apartment complex by floodwater.
–1 MacDonald, Archie V, 70. Swept from Village Green apartment complex by floodwater.
–1 Schwartz, Hattie, 73. Drowned; car was swept into street excavation at Rodeo and La Brea.
–1 Strathearn, Mrs. Orra G. Body recovered Dec 19.
–1 Young, Arch, 58. Swept from Village Green apartment complex by floodwater.

Narrative Information

Association of State Dam Safety Officials:
“Location: California, USA
“Year Constructed: 1951
“Type: Earthfill
“Height: 232 ft.
“Primary Purpose: Water Supply
“Date of Incident: December 14, 1963
“Evacuation: Yes
“Fatalities: 5
“Property Damage: $11 Million

“Description & Background

“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.

“Engineers involved with the design of the Baldwin Hills Reservoir and Dam recognized the difficulties associated with the land on which they planned to build the structure. At the location of the dam and reservoir, the immediate subsurface is comprised of loose, sandy soil followed by large block-like rock formations. In an effort to prevent water inside the reservoir from contacting the soft, erodible soil beneath it, the reservoir was equipped with a complex underdrain system. A typical section of the drainage system between the water in the reservoir and the dam embankment is shown in the figure on this page.

“In addition to understanding the foundation’s geology, the reservoir’s designers acknowledged the Inglewood Fault system that underlays the Baldwin Hills area. They assumed, however, that any movement or subsidence that occurred at the site of the dam as a result of the fault system would not be large enough to compromise the integrity of the brittle liner.

“Around 11:15 A.M. on December 14, 1963, during a routine daily inspection, the reservoir’s caretaker noticed that water had begun draining from the pipes beneath the asphalt membrane liner. Concerned by the unusual circumstance, the caretaker and the operating engineer engaged the outlet works designed to lower the reservoir in emergency situations. Because the reservoir would take approximately 24 hours to drain safely and completely, the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) asked that police execute an evacuation downstream. Within four hours of the initial signs of danger, approximately 1,600 downstream residents had been evacuated from their homes.

“In the meantime, LADWP personnel worked furiously to clear debris from the emergency discharge pipes and stop the interior face of the dam from eroding. Despite their efforts, a section of the Baldwin Hills Dam collapsed at 3:38 P.M. unleashing a wave of destruction on the town below.

“Less than an hour and a half later, water had stopped flowing from the opening in the dam leaving the Baldwin Hills Reservoir nearly empty. Only after the reservoir was drained was it revealed that the asphalt liner between the embankment and reservoir’s contents had cracked allowing water to penetrate and erode the soil beneath it. There was much speculation of the primary cause(s) of the crack during the investigation of the Baldwin Hills Dam failure. The crack could have been caused by the movement of the schist below the dam, a combination of that natural phenomenon and the injection of pressurized liquid into the oil field near the dam, or the heavy equipment used during construction.

“Though the Baldwin Hills Reservoir and Dam failed, the emergency action implemented by the caretaker, operating engineer, LADWP, and evacuation personnel was a great success. Routine maintenance of the dam led to the early discovery of the deficiency. While the failure of the dam resulted in the death of five individuals, the early detection and subsequent evacuation lowered the resulting death toll from potentially as high as 1,500.”

Newspaper

Dec 15, Independent Star-News, Pasadena: “A giant wall of mud and water from a ruptured hilltop reservoir surged over the exclusive Baldwin Hills residential area in Los Angeles Saturday afternoon, wrecking hundreds of homes and apartments. An estimated 200 homes were wiped out completely, swept from their foundations. Some were crushed and fragmented in the mad downhill floodrush. An estimated 1,500 to 2,000 more were damaged by mud-flood waters that in some areas submerged second floors.

“Unofficial reports listed two or three dead. The estimates came from Police Capt. Robert M. Gaunt of the Central Division, the officer in charge of the disaster area operation, after he surveyed the scene from a helicopter. He gave this picture of the area of greatest damage: a pie-shaped section of about one square mile, with the 900-acre-foot reservoir atop the Baldwin Hills at its apex. Bisecting the piece was a giant furrow caved in minutes by the great surge, which fanned out at the end of its downhill run.

“It was a balmy, seemingly peaceful afternoon in the community between downtown Los Angeles and International Airport when, a little after 3 p.m. the sloping 100-foot wall of the bowl-shaped reservoir exploded with a cannon-like roar….

“The muddy brown surge raced over and match-sticked houses in the $80,000 to $100,000 class at upper levels, then boomed on to less expensive houses on lower sloped. Then, on the flat, it smashed into complexes of apartment houses. Along the way, it shoved cars, both moving and parked, like toys; swept houses off their foundations then ripped out the foundations. Swimming pools were scoured out, leaving only holes behind.

“In the two hours before the disaster, police cars with bullhorns patrolled the area, ordering residents out.

“Within an hour, Mayor Samuel W. Yorty declared it an emergency area. Later, Gov. Edmund G. Brown declared it a disaster area.

“The flood swept down into a catch basin at the foot of the reservoir’s earthen front. But the catch basin was filled in moments, and the water, spurting 50 feet in the air, shaking the earth with its fury, shot out of the catch basin and into a residential section below.

“Cars were caught as the water poured three-quarters of a mile down the canyon, spreading through the residential section. Motorists and policemen abandoned their vehicles and climbed to rooftops.

“The flood was two massive tides – each 10 feet high – as it spewed across Coliseum Road at the foot of the Baldwin Hills.

“Whole rows of apartments literally vanished in the flood. Roofs ripped from two-story structures, flipped through the air, and landed crazily in trees hundreds of yards away.

“At Rodeo Road and La Brea, on the edge of Culver City, the great mass of muddy water caught cars on the busy intersection and sent Christmas shoppers running for shelter.

“It was at this intersection that a car containing two elderly women was swept into a sewer excavation. One was rescued. The other died in her auto. [Hattie Schwartz, 73]

“The water began to subside in the stricken area almost immediately….” (Independent Star-News, Pasadena, CA. “Baldwin Hills Dam Bursts. Flood Wipes Out 200 Residences. Warnings Evacuate Thousands.” 12-15-1963, pp. 1 & 4.)

Sources

Association of State Dam Safety Officials. “Case Study: Baldwin Hills Dam (California, 1963).” Accessed 8-3-2022 at: https://damfailures.org/case-study/baldwin-hills-dam/

Clarke, Connie. “The Johnstown Flood: the Worst Dam Failure in U.S. History — The Kaloko Dam Disaster Has Many Antecedents.” ABC News, March 2, 2007. Accessed at: http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=2918360&page=1

Independent, Long Beach, CA. “New Break Hits Dam Wall; Find Reservoir Floor Split.” 17-17-1963, p. 1. Accessed 8-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/independent-dec-17-1963-p-1/

Independent Star-News, Pasadena, CA. “Baldwin Hills Dam Bursts. Flood Wipes Out 200 Residences. Warnings Evacuate Thousands.” 12-15-1963, p. 1. Accessed 8-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/independent-star-news-dec-15-1963-p-1/

Oakland Tribune, CA. “‘Even Lots Are Gone,’ in L.A. Flood.” 12-16-1963, p. 13. Accessed 8-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/oakland-tribune-dec-16-1963-p-13/

UPI (United Press International). “Fourth Victim of Flood Found.” Daily Independent Journal, San Rafael, CA. 12-19-1963, p. 1. Accessed 8-3-2022 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/san-rafael-daily-independent-journal-dec-19-1963-p-1/

Wikipedia. “Baldwin Hills Reservoir.” 1-2-2009 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baldwin_Hills_Reservoir