WSP12637

• File Number: 8282.300
• Description: Colorado River Operations and Accounting - Lower Basin Administrative Procedures
• State: CO
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 8/1/1996
• Author: DOI-BOR
• Title: Description and Assessment of Operations-Maintenance and Sensitive Species of the Lower Colorado River - Volume I - Report - 08-01-96
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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and powerplant. Lake Mohave behind Davis Dam can store up to 1,818,300 acre-feet of
water at a maximum elevation of 647 feet. When full, Lake Mohave covers 28,500 acres
and backs water 67 miles upstream to the tailrace, or the water outlet, of Hoover Dam.
Water is released though Davis Dam's five generators from lake elevations potentially as low
as 570 feet, and the maximum efficient rate of flow through the generators is 28,000 cfs.
Water is diverted and pumped from Lake Mohave for domestic uses. Typical water travel
time from Hoover Dam to Davis Dam is 4 to 6 hours.

Parker Dam is located 88 miles downstream from Davis Dam and operates as a forebay and
desilting basin for the Colorado River Aqueduct and the CAP. Lake Havasu behind
Parker Dam has a storage capacity of 648,000 acre-feet of water at a maximum lake
elevation of 450 feet. When full, Lake Havasu backs water up-river for 45 miles and covers
20,400 acres. Lake Havasu is limited in its elevation and has only a lO-foot operational
range between elevations 440 to 450 feet. Water above 400 feet in elevation is diverted
though the powerplant's four generators with a maximum efficient flow rate of 19,000 cfs.
Water diverted from the lake is delivered by The Metropolitan Water District of Southern
California (MWD) through its Colorado River Aqueduct to southern California and through
the Granite Reef Aqueduct by the Central Arizona Water Conservation District (CA WCD) to
central Arizona. Water is also diverted and pumped above Parker Dam for domestic,
irrigation, and environmental uses. Typical water travel time from Davis Dam to Parker
Dam is just over 1 to 1.5 days.

Headgate Rock Dam is located 14 miles downstream from Parker Dam and was constructed
in 1942 for the Bureau of Indian Affairs as a diversion facility for the Colorado River Indian
Tribes (CRIT) Reservation. The dam was recently retrofitted to provide power generation
capability. Lake Moovalya behind the dam has limited water storage capacity and is
occasionally drained during the winter for diversion-canal maintenance. The maximum
elevation of Lake Moovalya is 364 feet and backs water up for 10 miles. Water from a
maximum depth of 15 feet is released though several generators with a combined flow rate of
20,000 cfs. Water is diverted by gravity immediately behind the dam though the CRIT canal
for use on the CRIT reservation. Water is also diverted and pumped from Lake Moovalya
for domestic, irrigation, and environmental uses. Typical water travel time from Parker
Dam to Headgate Rock Dam is 1 to 4 hours.

Palo Verde Diversion Dam is located 44 miles downstream of Headgate Rock Dam and was
constructed between 1956 and 1957 as a diversion dam to replace and improve the reliability
of the Palo Verde Irrigation District's (PVID) original gravity diversion facilities. Storing
water to a maximum 46-foot depth, the dam has no effective water storage or flood control
capability. Water is diverted by gravity immediately above the dam though the PVID canal.
The canal can transport a maximum flow of 1,800 cfs. Water also is diverted and pumped
above Palo Verde Diversion Dam for domestic, irrigation, and environmental uses. Typical
water travel time from Headgate Rock Dam to Palo Verde Diversion Dam is about 1 day.

Senator Wash Dam and Reservoir is located 85 miles downstream from Palo Verde
Diversion Dam and 2 miles upstream from Imperial Dam. The purpose of this off-stream

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