Cochiti Dam

The Cochiti Dam is a Erdschüttdamm on the Rio Grande in Sandoval County ( New Mexico) about 80 km north of Albuquerque, New Mexico in the United States. It is measured at the building volume with 48.052 million m³ ( another source: 50.23 million m³) one of the largest dams in the world and in the United States among the largest 10 Cochiti Dam is one of four plants of the United States Army Corps of Engineers to flood and sediment control in the river basin of the Rio Grande, together with the dams Abiquiu Lake, Galisteo and Jemez Canyon.

Use

The Cochiti Dam is primarily a flood control device intended to mitigate the effects of heavy rainfall. The dam and the reservoir have leisure facilities as a secondary use and serve the ecology. The outlet devices can drain off 418.8 m³ / s.

The dam is operated so that the flow is allowed through to the extent of the drain channel can be safely tolerated. The flood control comes into force if the inflow is higher than can flow in the lower reaches. The stored flood is drained when the underflow allows, in accordance with Public Law 86-645 and the Rio Grande Compact.

Architectural History

The Cochiti Dam was by an Act of 1960 ( en: Flood Control Act of 1960) decided on building cost $ 94.4 million.

Construction began in 1965, the dam was completed in 1975, but the impoundment of the lake began in 1973. Previously there were archaeological investigations.

The increasing congestion levels flooded the Cochiti distributor dam, which had previously been built for irrigation.

The dam construction was opposed by the Cochiti Pueblo Indians, who lost significant areas of arable land. They led a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers, and took him. In 2001, the Army Corps of Engineers publicly apologized to the Indians.

The reservoir " Cochiti Lake "

The Cochiti Dam has since the completion of a permanent storage for recreational relaxation of about 62 million cubic meters. To this end, an alternate storage comes in the side of the Santa Fe River. Each year about 1.2 million m³ sediments are deposited.

There are two public recreational area at the reservoir, one on the west side ( Cochiti Recreation Area ) and one on the east side ( Tetilla Peak Recreation Area ). Other areas around the lake are part of the Cochiti Indian Reservation and are not publicly available. There is a visitor center.