El Vado Dam impounds the

Rio Chama The Rio Chama, a major tributary river of the Rio Grande, is located in the U.S. states of Colorado and New Mexico. The river is about long altogether. From its source to El Vado Dam its length is about , from El Vado Dam to Abiquiu Dam is about ...

in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, about north-northwest of New Mexico's largest city,

Albuquerque Albuquerque ( ; ), ; kee, Arawageeki; tow, Vakêêke; zun, Alo:ke:k'ya; apj, Gołgéeki'yé. abbreviated ABQ, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico. Its nicknames, The Duke City and Burque, both reference its founding in ...

and about northwest of the capital city of Santa Fe. The earth-filled structure forms

El Vado Lake El Vado Lake is a reservoir located in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, Rio Arriba County, in northern New Mexico in the southwestern United States. Water is impounded by the earthen dam, earth-filled El Vado Dam, on the Rio Chama (New Mexico), Rio ...

, a storage reservoir for the

Middle Rio Grande Project The Middle Rio Grande Project manages water in the Albuquerque Basin of New Mexico, United States. It includes major upgrades and extensions to the irrigation facilities built by the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District and modifications to the ...

, and has been designated as a New Mexico Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Construction

The El Vado dam was originally built by the

Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District The Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) was formed in 1925 to manage the irrigation systems and control floods in the Albuquerque Basin. It is responsible for the stretch of river from the Cochiti Dam in Sandoval County in the north, thr ...

as a storage facility for irrigation water to be used in the

Middle Rio Grande Basin The Albuquerque Basin (or Middle Rio Grande Basin) is a structural basin and ecoregion within the Rio Grande rift in central New Mexico. It contains the city of Albuquerque. Geologically, the Albuquerque Basin is a half-graben that slopes down ...

. Construction began in 1933 and the dam was completed in 1935. Impoundment of the reservoir, which filled by 1936, inundated El Vado, the largest town of

Rio Arriba County Rio Arriba County is a county in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 40,246. Its county seat is Tierra Amarilla. Its northern border is the Colorado state line. Rio Arriba County comprises the Española, N ...

. The town's name meant "the crossing" in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

, and it was named so because it was an important ford and trading center on the Rio Chama during the 19th century. The dam was rehabilitated by the Bureau of Reclamation in 1954-1955. In the 1960s and 1970s, the San Juan-Chama Project built a diversion through a tunnel from the San Juan River basin to the Rio Chama, requiring an extensive retrofit of the dam's water conveyance facilities. The outlet works at El Vado Dam were enlarged between 1965 and 1966 so that releases from the

Heron Dam 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 o ...

could pass unimpeded through the dam. The capacity of the El Vado outlet works was increased to pass per second.

Structure

The El Vado dam is high and long, and holds of water. It has a concrete lined spillway capable of discharging of water. The dam also has a set of

outlet works A gatehouse, gate house, outlet works or valve house for a dam is a structure housing sluice gates, valves, or pumps (in which case it is more accurately called a pumping station). Many gatehouses are strictly utilitarian, but especially in the n ...

, capable of carrying .

Usage

Owned by 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 ...

, the El Vado dam serves for storage and flood-control purposes. It incorporates an 8 megawatt power generation facility owned by the Incorporated County of Los Alamos Department of Public Utilities. El Vado Lake, the reservoir formed by the dam, has and is surrounded by El Vado Lake State Park. The lake is a popular location for swimming, fishing and recreational boating.

References

{{Rio Grande dams and diversions Dams in New Mexico Buildings and structures in Rio Arriba County, New Mexico United States Bureau of Reclamation dams Dams completed in 1935 Dams in the Rio Grande basin 1935 establishments in New Mexico