Draft:Phoenix Lake (Marin County)

Phoenix Lake is a resevoir near Ross, California that serves as a water source for much of Southern Marin County.

History
Phoenix Lake was created with the construction of the earth-fill Phoenix Lake dam in 1905, which was modified in 1968 and again in 1985. It the 2nd oldest resevoir in Marin County, second to Lake Lagunitas. It was constructed by the Marin Municipal Water District, who still owns it to this day.

Location
Phoenix Lake is in the Mount Tamalpais watershed,. The Location of Phoenix Lake right above the towns of Ross and Kentfield leads to an extremely high downstream inundation risk. A dam failure would put the communities of Ross, Kentfield, Larkspur, and San Anselmo all at risk of flooding. A study by the water district shows that if the Phoenix Lake Dam failed, floodwaters at speeds upwards of 30 ft/s could hit downtown Ross.

Operation
When water levels are low, water is pumped up from Phoenix Lake to Bon Tempe.