Navajo Dam is on the San Juan River in northeastern New Mexico about 34 miles east of Farmington. The dam is a rolled earthfill embankment with a structural height of 402 feet and a crest length of 3,648 feet. The dam contains 26,840,863 cubic yards of materials. The top width of the dam is 30 feet, and the maximum base width is 2,566 feet.
The spillway, on the right abutment, consists of an approach channel, concrete crest structure without gates, spillway bridge, concrete chute and stilling basin, and outlet channel. The width of the spillway ranges from 138 feet in the chute section to 195 feet in the stilling basin. The design capacity at maximum water surface elevation is 34,000 cubic feet per second.
Releases of water for downstream requirements are made through the outlet works, consisting of a concrete tower intake structure, an 18.75-foot-diameter concrete-lined tunnel, and valve house. Control is by one 6- by 13-foot fixed-wheel gate, two 72-inch ring-follower gates, and two 72-inch hollow-jet valves. The outlet works tunnel, located in the right abutment, is 1,603 feet long. Discharge capacity is 4,200 cubic feet per second at an elevation of 6,101.5 ft.
An auxiliary outlet works consisting of a concrete intake structure and a concrete-lined tunnel with gate chamber for two 4-foot-square gates also is located in the right abutment. Discharge is into the spillway stilling basin.
Navajo Reservoir extends 35 miles up the San Juan River, 13 miles up the Pine River, and 4 miles up the Piedra River in southern Colorado. When filled, the reservoir occupies 15,610 acres, with a total capacity of 1, 708,600 acre-feet and an active capacity of 1,036,100 acre-feet.
General
Project
Colorado River Storage
Longitude
-107.61297225952148
Watercourse
San Juan River
Original Construction
1957-1963
Modified Construction
1970
Dam Type
Rolled Earthfill Embankment
Latitude
36.80236896863783
Reservoir
Navajo
National ID Number
NM00120
Dimensions
Structural Height
402.0 ft
Crest Length
3648.0 ft
Top of Active Conservation Pool (Elevation)
5990.0 ft
Volume of Dam Construction Materials
26,840,863 cu yds
Spillway Crest Elevation
6085 ft
Streambed at Dam Axis
5720.0 ft
Crest Elevation
6108.0 ft
Hydraulic Height (Normal Operating Depth at Dam)
381.6 ft
Top of Joint Use Pool (Elevation)
6085.0 ft
Top of Dead Storage Pool (Elevation)
5775.0 ft
Hydraulics & Hydrology
Spillway Capacity at Elevation
34000 cfs at 6085.0 ft
Outlet Works Capacity at Elevation
4200 cfs at 6101.6 ft
Drainage Area
3190 sq mi
Maximum Water Surface Elevation
6101.6 ft
Normal Water Surface Elevation
6106.6 ft
Auxiliary Spillway
No
Contact
Owner
Title: Area Office Manager Organization: Western Colorado Area Office - Durango Address: 185 Suttle Street, Suite 2 City: Grand Junction, CO 81303 Phone: 970-385-6500
Operator
Title: Area Office Manager Organization: Western Colorado Area Office - Durango Address: 185 Suttle Street, Suite 2 City: Durango, CO 81303 Phone: 970-385-6500
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