Dam Safety

Reclamation begins safety modifications at El Vado Dam

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Reclamation begins safety modifications at El Vado Dam

The Bureau of Reclamation has begun safety modifications at El Vado Dam on the Rio Chama in northern New Mexico to ensure the continued structural stability of the facility.

Reclamation studied the risks at El Vado Dam and concluded that structural modifications are necessary to ensure the dam can safely and reliably continue to function and serve its beneficiaries.

El Vado Dam was built by the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District in 1934 and 1935 and was rehabilitated by Reclamation in 1954 and 1955. The dam embankment is of rolled gravel fill with a steel membrane on the upstream face. The dam is 230 feet high and has a crest length of 1,326 feet. The reservoir has a total capacity of 196,500 acre-feet.

The dam provides irrigation water for the Middle Rio Grande Valley, including six Pueblos. It also impounds water for an 8 MW small hydro powerhouse.

Water storage at the reservoir was restricted in recent years due to the structural concerns identified through inspections under Reclamation’s Safety of Dams program. However, due to prolonged drought, the reservoir naturally remained below the restriction levels for most of the past two decades.

“We have spent many years studying and closely monitoring El Vado Dam, as safety is our top priority,” said Albuquerque Area Manager Jennifer Faler. “Now, in partnership with the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District, we are prepared to restore the dam’s ability to safely store much needed irrigation water for the Middle Rio Grande Valley.”

Construction will include reducing reservoir storage to grout behind the steel faceplate and begin installation of a geomembrane over the face of the dam. Reclamation awarded the contract for the first phase of construction to CARPI USA Inc. and is estimated at about $31 million. The district is responsible for 15% of costs and the U.S. for 85%.

The first phase of construction is expected to be completed by the end of 2023. The second phase of construction, which includes replacement of the spillway and bridge next to the dam, is scheduled to begin in 2024.

Reclamation is a contemporary water management agency and the largest wholesale provider of water in the U.S. It brings water to more than 31 million people and provides one out of five western farmers with irrigation water for farmland. Reclamation is also the second largest producer of hydroelectric power in the U.S., with 53 hydroelectric powerplants that have produced an average of 40 billion kWh annually over the past decade.