Como Dam () is a dam in
Ravalli County, Montana
Ravalli County is a county in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Montana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 44,174. Its county seat is Hamilton.
Ravalli County is part of a north–south mountain valley bordered by the Sapphir ...
, in the far western part of the state.
Como Dam was originally constructed by local farmers around 1910, to impound a natural lake for irrigation storage; the
United States Bureau of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...
enhanced and stabilized that structure in 1954, in 1976, and in 1992-1993. The dam is high, with a length of at its crest. As part of the larger Bitter Root Project, the dam and reservoir are both owned by the local Bitter Root Project Irrigation District.
[
The reservoir it creates, Lake Como, has a water surface of and normal storage of . Recreation includes fishing, camping, and boating. The site is surrounded by the ]Bitterroot National Forest
Bitterroot National Forest comprises 1.587 million acres (6,423 km²) in west-central Montana and eastern Idaho, of the United States. It is located primarily in Ravalli County, Montana (70.26% of the forest), but also has acreage in Idaho ...
.[
Concerns that the lack of an Early Warning System on the dam could lead to catastrophic loss of life in the Bitterroot Valley in the event of nighttime inundation led officials to take measures to ensure the safety of the dam in 2017.][
]
References
External links
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Dams in Montana
Reservoirs in Montana
United States Bureau of Reclamation dams
Buildings and structures in Ravalli County, Montana
Dams completed in 1910
Historic American Engineering Record in Montana
Landforms of Ravalli County, Montana