Cajalco Road Roller Compacted Concrete (RCC) Dam Project

Sponsor: AZTEC Engineering

Liaisons: Mark A. Chase, P.E., Senior Vice President, AZTEC Engineering
Faculty Advisors: Howard Lum, P.E.; Jason Song, P.E.; John Shamma, P.E.; Rupa Purasinghe, Ph.D., P.E.
Students: Abram Tadrous, Allen Bernard Cabanillas, Andrew Nunez, Anteneh Alemu, Argin Nazari, Cassandra Luu, Christopher Rocha, Daniel Echeverria Palencia, Danya Shelleh, David James Corona, Devin Reyes, Edward Mendoza, Erick Toscano, Gerardo Flores Ramirez, Hector Linares, Jacob Richard Martinez, Jesse Robert Gauf, Jose Maria Fuentes Calles, Joshua Gutierrez, Kaily Villanueva, Kevin Rodriguez, Luis Gerardo Torres III, Luis Sosa, Marco Siu Tun Mui, Michelle Munoz, Olivia Chamu Quintana, Oscar Martinez, Pootisun Siridachanon, Roberto Benavidez Molina, Rumman Kibria, Saul Cortez Jr., Steven Wong

A roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam is planned to create a more sustainable water resource supply within the next ten years for local mining interests.  The area of their required services comprises the city of Corona and the unincorporated regions of Riverside County.  The clients need 1.8 million gallons of water per day.  As RCC dams are easy and economical to construct, the project is a viable option to serve all future mining operational needs for non-potable water.

This proposed roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam will be creating a reservoir of approximately 160 million gallons of water. The reservoir will intercept rainfall from the local watershed, with the remaining supply being purchased from the Metropolitan Water District (MWD). The RCC dam is one of the most economical dams to construct and operate. Reduced cementitious content and the ease of placement and compaction lead RCC dams to be built more economically. An added advantage of the dam is that the spillway can be constructed into the dam body rather than having separate excavation and structure.

In addition to the RCC dam and to support water delivery to the mining interests, additional infrastructure would be required. The required infrastructure will include an intake tower, two water storage tanks, a pump station, pipelines, tunnels, and access roads. A preliminary design of all infrastructure that meets local, regional, and national permits and standards will be conducted.

Both the National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements will be evaluated for every aspect of the project. These evaluations include addressing impacts on hydrology, air quality impacts, noise, flora, and fauna. Mitigation measures will be developed to lessen the environmental effects.