Heron Dam is a storage dam Rio Arriba County , in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States , just north of the El Vado Dam . It is owned and operated by the United States Bureau of Reclamation . The dam is about 9 miles west of the town of Tierra Amarilla .
31-760: The dam was built as part of the San Juan–Chama Project , which transfers water from the San Juan River basin through the 12.8 miles (20.6 km) Azotea Tunnel under the Continental Divide into Willow Creek, where it is stored in Heron Reservoir as part of the Colorado River Storage Project. The dam is located on Willow Creek near the creek's confluence with the Rio Chama . Construction
62-842: A storm drain . An early diversion dam is the Ancient Egyptian Sadd el-Kafara Dam at Wadi Al-Garawi, which was located about twenty five kilometres south of Cairo . Built around 2600 BC for flood control, the structure was 102 metres long at its base and 87 metres wide. It was destroyed by a flood while it was still under construction. Diversion dams are one of three classifications of dams which include: storage dams, detention dams , and diversion dams. Storage dams are used to store water for extended lengths of time. The stored water then can be used for irrigation , livestock , municipal water supply, recreation, and hydroelectric power generation. Detention dams are built to catch surface runoff to prevent floods and trap sediment by regulating
93-543: A capacity of 2,023 acre⋅ft (2,495,000 m ) and controls runoff from a catchment of 35 sq mi (91 km ). Its main purpose is to provide irrigation water for about 2,800 acres (1,100 ha) in the Pojoaque Valley, which is situated west and downstream of the dam. Each year, a minimum of 86,210 acre⋅ft (0.10634 km ) of San Juan–Chama water is allocated as follows. Because annual diversions average about 110,000 acre⋅ft (0.14 km ), there
124-611: A potential future diversion from the San Juan basin. When the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact was established in 1948, it also included provisions for the tentative diversion project under its water allotment to New Mexico. In the 1950s, post- World War II population growth in central New Mexico put even larger strains on the Rio Grande's water, and the need for a transbasin water project rose because water supplies in
155-660: A series of small diversion dams , tunnels, and siphons. Blanco Diversion Dam, with a diversion capacity of 520 cu ft/s (15 m /s), sends water into the Blanco Feeder Conduit, which connects to the 8.64-mile (13.90 km)-long Blanco Tunnel and flows south towards the Little Navajo River. The water passes underneath the river via the Little Oso Siphon and connects to the Oso Tunnel. Just upstream from
186-554: A stilling basin. The discharge capacity is 4,160 cubic feet (118 m) per second at a reservoir elevation of 7,190.8 feet (2,191.8 m). When filled, the reservoir covers 5,905 acres (23.90 km). The maximum safe storage capacity is 401,000 acre-feet (495,000,000 m). Downstream channel capacity is about 6,000 cubic feet (170 m) per second. The dam was built strictly for storage and delivery of San Juan-Chama Project water for municipal, domestic, industrial, recreation, irrigation, and fish and wildlife purposes. The water
217-461: Is 1,221 feet (372 m) long and 276 feet (84 m) high. Heron Dike, one mile northwest of the dam, helps contain the reservoir. It has a concrete crest spillway with an open chute with a discharge capacity of 600 cubic feet (17 m) per second. The dam's outlet works include an intake structure, 10 feet (3.0 m) diameter concrete-lined upstream tunnel, gate chamber, 11 feet (3.4 m) modified horseshoe concrete-lined downstream tunnel, and
248-623: Is a U.S. Bureau of Reclamation interbasin water transfer project located in the states of New Mexico and Colorado in the United States . The project consists of a series of tunnels and diversions that take water from the drainage basin of the San Juan River – a tributary of the Colorado River – to supplement water resources in the Rio Grande watershed. The project furnishes water for irrigation and municipal water supply to cities along
279-438: Is a dam that diverts all or a portion of the flow of a river from its natural course. Diversion dams do not generally impound water in a reservoir ; instead, the water is diverted into an artificial water course or canal , which may be used for irrigation or return to the river after passing through hydroelectric generators , flow into a different river or be itself dammed forming an onground or groundwater reservoir or
310-569: Is diverted to New Mexico as agreed under the Colorado River and Upper Colorado River Compacts. The amount of water diverted each year, and the way in which it is used, are subject to well-defined agreements. Flows of "native" or "natural" water from Willow Creek and from the Rio Chama upstream of the dam are measured and bypassed through the reservoir. The dam provides up to 5,000 acre-feet (6,200,000 m) of San Juan-Chama water annually to maintain
341-399: Is lower than the other types of dams. Buttress style diversion dams are designed using angle supports on the downstream side of the dam. The supports are fixed to the wall of the dam in order to help counteract the force of the water on the dam. Buttress style dams are built across wide valleys that do not have a solid bedrock foundation. Bedrock is solid rock that makes up the upper part of
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#1733084821933372-482: Is usually a surplus available for other uses along the river. About 75% of the water serves municipal and industrial uses; the remaining fourth furnishes irrigation supplies to approximately 92,500 acres (37,400 ha) of land along the Rio Grande and Rio Nambe. Surplus water is also used to maintain a permanent pool at the Cochiti Lake flood-control reservoir on the Rio Grande. Diversion dam A diversion dam
403-507: The Blanco Tunnel began in March of the same year. In 1967, an enlargement of the outlets of existing El Vado Dam to accommodate increased flows from the diversion project was completed, and construction began on Heron Dam, which would impound the project's main storage reservoir. Azotea Tunnel was holed through and construction was finished on the project's three diversion dams in 1970. Heron Dam
434-447: The Earth's crust. Bedrock can be made from sedimentary, igneous, and metaphoric rock origins. Buttress dams require extensive steel framework and labor. As a result, buttress style dams are expensive to construct and are seldom built today. Arch style diversion dams are designed using an arch shape with the top of the arch facing upstream. The arch shape provides extra strength to counteract
465-581: The Oso Feeder Conduit, which joins with water from the Oso Tunnel and Siphon to form the Azotea Tunnel. The Azotea Tunnel, which has a capacity of 950 cu ft/s (27 m /s), runs south for 12.8 miles (20.6 km), passing under the Continental Divide . The tunnel terminates at Azotea Creek, a tributary of Willow Creek, which is in turn a tributary of the Rio Chama. The lower portion of Azotea Creek has been channelized to mitigate erosion from
496-509: The Rio Grande including Albuquerque and Santa Fe . Most major agricultural and urban areas in New Mexico today lie along the narrow corridor of the Rio Grande as it cuts across the center of this predominantly desert state. Spanish settlers arrived in the area in the late 1500s, followed by Mexican and American settlers in the 18th and 19th centuries, building large irrigation systems and diversion dams to allow agricultural production in
527-654: The San Juan River in Colorado: the Rio Blanco , Navajo and Little Navajo Rivers, to the headwaters of the Rio Chama , a major tributary of the Rio Grande. The project would be constructed in two phases. However, Reclamation ran into difficulties because the Navajo Nation asserted rights to about 900,000 acre⋅ft (1.1 km ) of water from the San Juan River, which runs through their traditional lands. Resultantly, only
558-500: The area quickly became overallocated. Studies for the project continued through the early 1950s, but actual implementation languished until 1962 when Congress amended the Colorado River Storage Act of 1956 , allowing the diversion of part of New Mexico's share of Colorado River basin waters into the Rio Grande basin. The diversions proposed were for 235,000 acre⋅ft (0.290 km ) per year from three tributaries of
589-554: The arid region. In the early 1920s, water supply in the Rio Grande basin was already severely stressed, and studies were conducted as to the feasibility of procuring additional water by transbasin diversion from tributaries of the San Juan River. The 1933–1934 Bunger Survey studied potential locations for diversions and storage reservoirs, and in 1939, the Rio Grande Compact was signed, dividing Rio Grande waters between Colorado, New Mexico, and Texas including allocations from
620-418: The diversion dam to the reservoirs can be used for industrial applications or for municipal water supply. The design a diversion dam will fall into one of four basic types: embankment style dams, buttress style dams, arch style dams, and gravity style dams. Embankment style diversion dams are constructed to counteract the force of the water pushing on the dam by building a dam with enough weight to withstand
651-551: The first phase of the project was ever constructed, delivering just under 47% of the original amount proposed by Reclamation. On December 19, 1964, construction began on the Azotea Tunnel, the main water tunnel for the project, running from the Navajo River south to Azotea Creek in the Rio Chama watershed. Work started on the Oso and Little Oso tunnels in February 1966, and construction on
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#1733084821933682-498: The flow rate of the runoff into channels downstream. Diversion dams are used to raise the water level in order to redirect the water to the designated location. The diverted water can be used for supplying irrigation systems or reservoirs . Diversion dams are installed to raise the water level of a body of water to allow the water to be redirected. The redirected water can be used to supply irrigation systems, reservoirs, or hydroelectric power generation facilities. The water diverted by
713-403: The force of the water. Arch style dams are generally constructed in narrow canyons. Arch style dams are commonly made from concrete. To ensure the dam's integrity, a solid contact between the bedrock foundation and the dam's concrete base is required. The dome style dam is a type of arch dam. The dome style dam curves in both the horizontal plane and vertical plane. The arch style dam only curves in
744-434: The force. Embankment dams are commonly made from materials in the surrounding area where the dam is being built. The materials generally include: sand, gravel, and rocks. The combination of these building materials with either clay or an impervious membrane gives the embankment dam its integrity. As a result, the combination of its simple construction and locally available building materials the cost of building an embankment dam
775-517: The higher flows. The main storage facility for the project is Heron Lake , a reservoir formed by Heron Dam on Willow Creek about 8 miles (13 km) downstream of the terminus of Azotea Tunnel and 20 miles (32 km) southwest of Chama, New Mexico . The reservoir has a capacity of 401,320 acre⋅ft (0.49502 km ) and has a surface area of 5,950 acres (2,410 ha). Heron Dam is an earthfill dam 269 feet (82 m) high and 1,220 feet (370 m) long, standing 249.1 feet (75.9 m) above
806-453: The horizontal. Gravity style diversion dams are built to counteract the force of the water pushing on the dam by building a dam with enough weight to withstand the force. Gravity dams are commonly constructed using masonry or cement. The foundations of the gravity dams are generally constructed on top of a solid bedrock foundation. However, gravity dams can be built over unconsolidated ground as long as proper measures are put in place to stop
837-764: The recreation pool at Cochiti Reservoir . The dam can supply about 96,200 acre-feet (118,700,000 m) of San Juan-Chama water annually to users with reasonable certainty. There is no carry-over provision: contractors must take delivery of their water by December 31. This means that contractors such as the City of Albuquerque or the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District often withdraw their water and arrange to store it in downstream reservoirs such as El Vado , Abiquiu , Jemez Canyon (by exchange), and Elephant Butte . Citations Sources San Juan%E2%80%93Chama Project The San Juan–Chama Project
868-581: The siphon, Little Oso Diversion Dam sends up to 150 cu ft/s (4.2 m /s) of water through the Little Oso Feeder Conduit, which also empties into the Oso Tunnel. Oso Tunnel, with a capacity of 650 cu ft/s (18 m /s), travels 5.05 miles (8.13 km) south to the Navajo River, which it passes under via the Oso Siphon. Oso Diversion Dam on the Navajo diverts additional water into
899-652: The streambed. Heron Lake receives water from a catchment of 193 sq mi (500 km ), which has been augmented to over three times this size by the San Juan–Chama diversions. Nambe Falls Dam is located about 15 miles (24 km) north of Santa Fe on the Rio Nambe, a tributary of the Rio Grande. The dam and reservoir are functionally independent from the other facilities of the San Juan–Chama Project. The curved earthfill dam forms Nambe Falls Lake, which has
930-533: Was completed in 1971. The outlet works at El Vado Dam , just downstream from Heron Dam, were enlarged as part of the San Juan-Chama Project so releases from Heron Reservoir could pass unimpeded through the dam. The capacity of the El Vado outlet works was increased to pass 6,600 cubic feet (190 m) per second. The reservoir lies at an elevation of 7,192 feet (2,192 m) above sea level. The earthfill dam
961-494: Was completed the next year. Nambe Falls Dam, completed in 1976, was the last part of the project to be built. The dam was the only one built of a series of small independent irrigation units originally proposed under the project to serve Native American lands. In 1978, Reclamation announced the completion of the San Juan–Chama Project. The San Juan–Chama Project taps the water of the Rio Blanco, Navajo, and Little Navajo Rivers via