WSP10987

• File Number: 8220.100.60
• Description: CRSP
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Date: 5/21/1958
• Author: US Congress
• Title: Financial and Economic Analysis - Colorado River Storage Project and Participating Projects
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Publication

COLORADO RIVER STORAGE PRO~ECT

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to the 1950 report, were also completed in 1950 and 1951. Since
its introduction in :the 1950 report, the pro!' ect plan has been suhject
to modifications as shown in the 1953 supp ement, in the authorizing
act, and in definite plan studies.

COLORADO RIVER STORAGE PROJECT

The various dams and reservoirs of the Colorado River storage
project will regulatie the flow of the river, thus permitting an expan-
sion of irrigation ahd other water use in the uJ,lper basin within the
limits of the Colorado River compact, In most mstanccs powerplants
and switchyards wVI be installed at the dams and transmission lines
will be provided to tl'llnsmit the power to load centers. Facilities
will be provided as appropriate for recrOlttion and to mitigate losses
of, and improve conditions for, the propllgation of fish and wildlife.
Minor flood controLand other benefits, largely unevaluated at present,
are anticipated from the storage project.
The Colorado Ri1<er ~torage project as outlined in the 1950 report
included 10 storage umts. Four of these were authorized for con-
struction by the act of April 11, 1956. Jt is anticipated that addi-
tional units will b~ authorized l1S they become needed. The four
,authorized units are the Glcn Canyon, Flaming Gorge, Navajo, and
Curecanti. Together they will provide about 34,670,000 acre-feet of
reservoir capacity and about 1,167,000 kilowatts of installed generat-
ing capacity. More than three-fourths of both capacities will be
provided by the Glen Canyon unit alone.
Brief descriptions of the foul' authorized units and their common
transmission systeni appear below. Data on reservoir and power-
plant capacities and stream dcpletions are summarized in the table
,on page 8,

Glen Canyon unit
Glen Canyon Dll!ll will be on the Colorado River in northern
Arizona, about 13 iniles downstream from the Utah-Arizona State
line and 16 miles upstream from Lee Ferry, It is the only one of
the authorized dams'that will be on the Colorado River proper.
Glen Canyon Dam: will be a gravity arch concrete structure that will
rise 700 feet above its foundat.ion and 573 feet above the river. It will
have a crest lcngth of 1,500 fcet, The dam will be the fourth highest
in the world and secQud in height only to }loover Dam in the United
'States. The reservoir will have a capacity of 28,040,000 acre-feet,
When full, it will cOVier about 163,000 acres and will extend 186 miles
up the Colorado River, nearly to the mouth of Green River, and 71
miles upetl'eam on t1'1e t.ributlll'y San JUlin River. About 6,535,000
aore-feet of the reservoir capacity will be inactive and will be useful
for sediment llccumutation, to protect fish, and to provide the power
hcad at the dam. A'. powerplant and switchyard will be constructed
at the darn. The pJ.werplant will include 8 generating units with a
total installed capacity of 900,000 kilowatts. An access road and a
bridge across the ca~yon about 900 feet downstream from the dam
site will be constructed to Federlll highway standards.
Measures will be tlaken to protect the Rainbow Bridge National
Monument at one of ~he side bays of the Glen Canyon Reservoir.

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