PUB00027

• Year: 1990
• Title: Final Report Rio Grande Water Supply Study, Phase 1
• CWCB Section: Interstate & Federal
• Author: San Luis Valley Water Conservancy District
• Description: Reconnaissance level determination of the physically and legally available flow at 4 reservoir sites in the Rio Grande Basin upstream of Del Norte, Colorado
• Publications - Doc Type: Brochure

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Vega Sylvestre (Vega) dam site

Rio Grande 1 (RG1) dam site

South Fork 1 (SF1) dam site

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1.3.1 Wagon Wheel Gap Site

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A large reservoir at the Wagon Wheel Gap site has been proposed for many years.

In 1938, a report on the development of the entire Rio Grande Basin prepared by

the National Resources Committee (NRC) recommended a Wagon Wheel Gap reservoir as

part of Rio Grande Division of the San Luis Valley Project (NRC, 1938). In 1939,

both the Bureau of Reclamation, in its Project Investigation Report No. 38, and R.

J. Tipton (Tipton, 1939) prepared reports recommending the construction of a

reservoir with 1,000,000 af capacity at the Wagon Wheel Gap site. The 1939 reports

were used in the preparation of a report (printed as House Document 693, 76th

Congress, 3rd Session) by the Bureau of Reclamation which served as the basis for

the 1940 Congressional authorization of the San Luis Valley Project. The 1940

authorization included the construction of the Wagon Wheel Gap reservoir with a

capacity of 1,000,000 af for j oint irrigation and flood control purposes and

provision for future development of power. In 1955, the Bureau of Reclamation

prepared a report (USBR, 1955) to support a supplemental Congressional authorization

for the construction of a 500,000 af reservoir at Wagon Wheel Gap. At the request

of local interests in the San Luis Valley, the 1955 USBR report was never

transmitted to Congress.

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The Wagon Wheel Gap dam site is located on the Rio Grande mainstem approximately

32 miles upstream of Del Norte. The location of the dam would be in Section 26,

Township 41 North, Range 1 East, New Mexico Principal Meridian. Previous studies

have found the dam site to have satisfactory geological conditions which would

allow little seepage. This dam site has been determined in previous studies to be

well suited to a concrete - arch dam.

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The general location of the dam site is shown on Figure 1-2. Major characteristics

for a 1,000,000 acre-foot reservoir (NRC, 1938) and a 500,000 acre-foot reservoir

(USBR, 1955) are shown in Table I-i.

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