1978 aerial view of Lake Hodges Dam and Reservoir located 31 miles north of San Diego and just south of Escondido. The reservoir was created after the dam was completed, a multiple-arch dam that sits on the San Dieguito River. It was commissioned by the Volcan Water Company and designed by John S. Eastwood and completed in 1918. The City of San Diego purchased the dam and reservoir in 1925.