La Plata Lake
Artificial lake in Puerto Rico
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lago La Plata is an artificial lake in the municipalities of Naranjito and Toa Alta, in Puerto Rico. The was created in 1974 and supplies the San Juan metro area with water.
| Lago La Plata | |
|---|---|
La Plata Lake from Guadiana barrio | |
  Lago La Plata | |
| Location | Naranjito / Toa Alta / Bayamón municipalities, Puerto Rico |
| Coordinates | 18°20′N 66°14.2′W |
| Type | Reservoir |
| Basin countries | Puerto Rico |
Surface area | 1.56 sq mi (4.05 km2) |
Geography
La Plata Lake located about 3.1 mi (5 km) south of the town of Toa Alta and 3.1 mi north of the town of Naranjito,[1] with its surface, at normal water levels, situated at an elevation of 171 ft (52 m) above sea level.[1][2]
Hydrology
The reservoir has a drainage basin area of roughly 180 sq mi (470 km2),[1] about 90% of which is accounted for by the La Plata River.[3] The Guadiana and Cañas Rivers stand for about 6.2% and 3.5% of the area, respectively.[3]
The lake is about 6.0 mi (9.6 km) long, and about 0.31 mi (0.5 km) across at its widest. It has a surface area of 1.19 sq mi (3.07 km2) and an average depth of 33 ft (10 m).[3]
After its completion the reservoir was estimated to have a storage capacity of 1.420 billion cu ft (40.21 million m3), which has since decreased due to sediment being deposited into the reservoir. The estimated storage capacity had fallen to 1.252 billion cu ft (35.46 million m3) by 1998, to 1.104 billion cu ft (31.27 million m3) by 2006 and to 1.091 billion cu ft (30.88 million m3) by 2016.[1][2] The average replacement time for water in the reservoir is 28 days.[3]
Operation
A 130 ft (40 m) tall gravity dam constructed in 1974 impounds the reservoir, which is operated by the Puerto Rico Aqueduct and Sewer Authority as part of the San Juan Metropolitan Water District.[2] As of 2013, the reservoir supplied water to cover about 31% of the San Juan metro area's total demand, serving 425,000 people with 83 million US gallons (310,000 m3) of water per day.[2]
