Grand Valley Diversion Dam

Grand Valley Diversion Dam
Location	Mesa County, near Palisade, Colorado, United States
Coordinates	39°11′20″N 108°16′55″W / 39.18889°N 108.28194°WCoordinates: 39°11′20″N 108°16′55″W / 39.18889°N 108.28194°W
Construction began	1913
Opening date	1916
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Roller gate weir
Impounds	Colorado River
Height	14 ft (4.3 m)[1]
Length	546 ft (166 m)[1]
Power station
Commission date	1933[1]
Installed capacity	3,000 KW[1]
Annual generation	19,350,600 KWh[1]
Grand Valley Diversion Dam
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Nearest city	Palisade, Colorado
Coordinates	39°11′20″N 108°16′53″W / 39.18889°N 108.28139°W
Area	4.8 acres (1.9 ha)
Built	1913
Architectural style	Other, Roller-gate dam
NRHP Reference #	91001485[2]
Added to NRHP	October 8, 1991

The Grand Valley Diversion Dam is a diversion dam in the De Beque Canyon of the Colorado River, about 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Grand Junction, Colorado in the United States. It is a 14-foot (4.3 m) high, 546-foot (166 m) long concrete roller dam with six gates, which were the first and largest of their kind to be installed in the United States.^[3]

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 33,368 acres (13,504 ha) and supplemental irrigation to 8,600 acres (3,500 ha) 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.^[4]

References

1. "Grand Valley Project". U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. 2011-05-10. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
2. Staff (2010-07-09). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
3. "Bureau of Reclamation projects on the National Register of Historical Places in Colorado". U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Retrieved 2012-06-09.
4. "Grand Valley Diversion Dam". National Register of Historic Places. U.S. National Park Service. 2012-06-09. Retrieved 2012-06-09.