Grand Valley Diversion Dam Explained

Grand Valley Diversion Dam
Coordinates:39.1889°N -108.2819°W
Location:Mesa County, near Palisade, Colorado, United States
Construction Began:1913
Opening:1916
Dam Type:Roller gate weir
Dam Height:14feet[1]
Dam Length:546feet
Dam Crosses:Colorado River
Plant Commission:1933
Plant Capacity:3,000 KW
Plant Annual Gen:19,350,600 KWh
Extra:
Grand Valley Diversion Dam
Embed:yes
Nrhp Type:hd
Nocat:yes
Coordinates:39.1889°N -108.2814°W
Built:1913
Builder:U.S. Reclamation Service
Architecture:Roller-gate dam
Added:October 8, 1991
Area:4.8acres
Refnum:91001485

The Grand Valley Diversion Dam is a diversion dam in the De Beque Canyon of the Colorado River, about 15miles northeast of Grand Junction, Colorado in the United States. It is a 14feet high, 546feet long concrete roller dam with six gates, which were the first and largest of their kind to be installed in the United States.[2]

The dam was built between 1913 and 1916 as part of the Grand Valley Project of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and diverts water into the Government Highline Canal for the full irrigation of 33368acres and supplemental irrigation to 8600acres in western Colorado's Grand Valley.[1] A small hydroelectric plant with a capacity of 3,000 kilowatts (KW) was completed in 1933 on the Orchard Mesa Power Canal, a branch of the Government Highline Canal.[1] In 1949, the dam and canal system were transferred to the Grand Valley Water Users Association, while the power plant was consigned to the Orchard Mesa Irrigation District.[1]

Grand Valley Diversion Dam was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 8, 1991.[3]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Grand Valley Project. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 2011-05-10. 2012-06-09. September 25, 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120925150942/http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Project.jsp?proj_Name=Grand+Valley+Project. dead.
  2. Web site: Bureau of Reclamation projects on the National Register of Historical Places in Colorado. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 2012-06-09.
  3. Web site: Grand Valley Diversion Dam . U.S. National Park Service . National Register of Historic Places . 2012-06-09 . 2012-06-09 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130220204509/http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natregsearchresult.do?fullresult=true&recordid=0 . 2013-02-20 .