Anderson dam and reservoir was named for Leroy Anderson, the key founder and first president of the Santa Clara Valley Water Conservation District. It was built in 1950, on a 500-acre dairy and cattle ranch along Coyote Creek purchased from the estate of John Cochran and his wife, Aphelia Farmington. Anderson Reservoir is the largest man-made lake in Santa Clara County. The reservoir can store 89,073 acre-feet of water. Its surface area is 1,245 acres.