The Granite Reef Diversion Dam is a concrete

diversion dam A diversion dam 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, whic ...

located Northeast of

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1 ...

. It impounds the Salt River for irrigation purposes. The dam diverts nearly all water from the Salt River into the Arizona and South Canals, which serve metropolitan Phoenix with irrigation and drinking water. The Salt River below Granite Reef is usually dry except following consistent and heavy upstream precipitation. When upstream lakes are full, minor and moderate releases are accomplished via floodgates at either end of the dam. The dam is designed to be overtopped by major releases, which can occur every 10 to 40 years. The dam is long, high. Its volume is . 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 ...

built the dam between 1906 and 1908 to replace Arizona Dam washed out in 1905. It is operated by the

Salt River Project The Salt River Project (SRP) is the umbrella name for two separate entities: the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District, an agency of the state of Arizona that serves as an electrical utility for the Phoenix metropolitan a ...

, an electric cooperative.

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Dams completed in 1908 Dams in Arizona Buildings and structures in Maricopa County, Arizona Historic American Engineering Record in Arizona United States Bureau of Reclamation dams 1908 establishments in Arizona Territory