PROJ00077

• Contract/PO #: FS0008X
• Contractor Name: Longmont, City of
• Contract Type: Loan
• Water District: 0
• County: Boulder
• Loan Projects - Doc Type: Feasibility Study

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I. INTRODUCTION
This report presents the results of our geotechnical investigation of
Bluebird Dam, owned by the City of Longmont. The p~~iose of this investigation
was to evaluate the existing engineering properties of Bluebird Dam and its
foundation, to recommend methods of repair for the rehabilitation of the struc-
ture and to provide cost estimates for repair.
I I. PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Bluebird Dam lies within Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, in
Sec. 26, T3N, R74W. (See Figure 1) The dam is a thin arch concrete dam that is
up to 65 feet high structurally, and 138 feet long with an extrados radius of
108 feet. The dam contains a right abutment gravity section 59 feet long giving
the dam a total length of 197 feet. The dam impounds approximately 991 acre-
feet of water from Ouzel Creek, a tributary of North St. Vrain Creek.
History
The plans for the construction of Bluebird Dam were approved by the
State Engineer in 1915. Records of the construction and maintenance of Bluebird
Dam are ambiguous and incomplete but include plans, photographs, press articles
and correspondence in the files of both the State Engineer's Office (SEO) and,
the City of Longmont (City). The dam apparently was constructed sometime bet-
ween 1920 and 1923 by the Arbuckle Reservoir and Ditch Company, and took at
least three years to construct. (Dieterich, 1923) The construction season was
July 14 to September 10. Apparently, concrete work performed in the second year
of construction was condemned by the SEO and necessitated removal and replace-
ment. Construction materials were transported to the site by mule trains and
aggregate was quarried and processed at the site.
The dam was sold to the City in October 1933. The dam apparently

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