Lexington Reservoir County Park

Story

Lexington Reservoir is an artificial lake on the Los Gatos Creek near Los Gatos, California. The James J. Lenihan Dam, a 195ft high, 1000ft thick earthen dam, forms the third-largest reservoir in Santa Clara County.BackgroundThe reservoir is in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, at an elevation of 645ft.State Route 17 runs alongside the dam's western edge and over part of the reservoir. Alma Bridge Road (Limekiln Canyon Road) runs around the eastern side, connecting with 17 at the north end and again at the south end via other surface streets.The reservoir is contained in Lexington Reservoir County Park, which includes hiking trails in the hills with good views of the reservoir and of Silicon Valley. The Los Gatos Creek Trail starts at the dam and continues downstream along the creek's canyon.It is part of the Santa Clara Valley Water District and provides water for Silicon Valley.In October 2007, the Santa Clara Valley Water District began a construction project to replace the old 48in outlet pipe that runs through the base of the dam from the reservoir to Los Gatos Creek. The current outlet pipe will be replaced with a 54in-diameter pipe, new valves, outlet structures and a control building.