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<br />When \I'as Davis Dam completed?
<br />The main dalll embankment was eOIll-
<br />pleted in April 1949. The intake and
<br />spillway structures were substantially
<br />completed the same month. The six tem-
<br />porary diversion openings of the spillway
<br />strllcture were closed in January 1950,
<br />and first storage of water in the reservoir
<br />began. The powerhollse was completed
<br />in October 1950, the first unit went on
<br />line in January 1951, and all five units
<br />were operating by mid-June 1951. The
<br />dam and lX)wcrplant were dedicated in
<br />December 1952.
<br />
<br />WI/a! type of struclUre is Davis Dam?
<br />It is all earth and rockfill embankment
<br />with a concrete spillway. intake structure.
<br />and powerplant. It has a crest length of
<br />1,600 fcet and a top width of 50 feet. It
<br />rises 200 feet above the lowest (Xlint of
<br />the foundation and about 128 feet above
<br />the river surf~lce.
<br />
<br />Whell arc the pwposes of Davis Dam?
<br />Davis Dam generates electric powcr for
<br />Arizona, southern California, and
<br />southern Nevada; helps regulate the Col-
<br />orado River; and services provisions of
<br />the Mexican Water Trcaty of 1944. Its
<br />reservoir, Lake Mohave, is also a
<br />significant Southwestern recrcation area.
<br />
<br />How big is Lake Mohavc?
<br />Lake Mohave. which can store
<br />1,818.300 acre-feet of waleI'. extends 67
<br />miles upstream to the tailrace of Hoovcr
<br />Powerplant.
<br />
<br />Holt' much pOll'er is developed!
<br />The Davis powerplant, with an installed
<br />capacity of 225,000 kilowatts provided by
<br />five 45.000-kilowatt semi-outdoor-type
<br />generators, generates nlore than
<br />1,000,000,000 kilowatt,hours a year.
<br />
<br />Parker Dam
<br />
<br />Is Parker Dam pm1 of the BOIl/der
<br />CanYON pl"(~;ec'?
<br />No, but construction of Parker Dam
<br />would have been impossible if Hoover
<br />Dam had not been built.
<br />
<br />What type of structure is Parker Dam?
<br />Parker Dam is a concretc-arch structure.
<br />with five 50, by 50, foot Stoney gates at
<br />its crest to control releases from its
<br />reservoir, Lake Havasu. The dam has a
<br />structuralhcight of 320 feet, with 65
<br />percent of that height located below the
<br />riverbed; only 85 fect of the dam ex-
<br />tends above the riverbed.
<br />
<br />What is the dam:'l pwpose?
<br />The primary purpose of Parker Darn is
<br />to provide a reservoir from which water
<br />can be pumped into the Metropolitan
<br />Water District of Southern California's
<br />(MWD) Colorado River Aqueduct. The
<br />dam and powerplant were constructed
<br />with funds advanced by MWD for this
<br />purpose.
<br />Parker also has other uses. It generates
<br />hydroclectric power; captures floodflows
<br />from the Bill Williams River, a Colorado
<br />River tributary below Davis Dam; and
<br />reregulates water releases from Hoover
<br />and Davis Powerplants. In creating Lake
<br />Havasu, the dam also created Topock
<br />Marsh, a major Southwest fish and
<br />wildlife habitat that is pm1 of the Havasu
<br />National Wildlife Refuge. Lake Havasu
<br />is also a major Southwestcrn rccreation
<br />spot. Beginning in 1985. water for the
<br />Central Arizona Project will be pumped
<br />from Lake Havasu to begin a nearly
<br />300-mile journey into Arizona's mid-
<br />section.
<br />
<br />lfoJ,v large is the Parker powerplant and
<br />I1mv is its production allocated?
<br />Four hydroelectric generating units, each
<br />with a 30,000,kilowatt capacity, give the
<br />powerplant an installed capacity of
<br />120,000 kilowatts. About 50 percent of
<br />the plant's annual output is reserved by
<br />MWD for pumping water along the Col,
<br />orado River Aqueduct. The remaining
<br />power is marketed in Arizona, southern
<br />Nevada, and southern California by the
<br />Western Area Power Administration, a
<br />Depm1ment of Energy agency.
<br />
<br />W710 owns the dam?
<br />Parker Dam, powerplant, and appurte-
<br />nant works are owned by the United
<br />States. The powerplant is operated by the
<br />Bureau of Reclamation, which also con,
<br />trois all water passing over the dam.
<br />
<br />Colorado River Aqneducl
<br />
<br />Is the Colorado River Aqueduct pun oj
<br />the Boulder Canyon Project?
<br />No. The aqueduct was built by the
<br />Metropolitan Water District of Southern
<br />Calif()rnia to transport water pumped
<br />from Lake Havasu above Parker Dam to
<br />the Pacific Coast, primarily the Los
<br />Angeles area.
<br />
<br />What is the Metropolitan Water District?
<br />The Metropolitan Water District of
<br />Southern Calilornia (MWD) is a public
<br />corporation formed in 1928 to obtain ad,
<br />ditional domestic water for the southern
<br />California region. Colorado River water
<br />pumped Irom lake Havasu by the MWD
<br />serves more than 130 municipalities.
<br />The District can pump up to 1,212,000
<br />acre-feet of Colorado River water each
<br />ycar until the Central Arizona Project
<br />goes on line in 1985. The District's
<br />annual allotment will then be reduced to
<br />550,000 acre, feet per year. In 1981,
<br />MWD pumped almost 814,000 acre,feet
<br />of water to about 12,000,000 people in
<br />its service area.
<br />
<br />Where does MWD obtain electrical
<br />energy fbr purnping and other operational
<br />needs?
<br />From the Hoover and Parker Dam
<br />powerplams and steam purchases. This
<br />energy, transmitted over Jines constmctcd
<br />by the district, lifts the water 1,617 feet
<br />through five pumping plants between
<br />Lake Havasu and its final destination.
<br />
<br />Hoover Dam Scnlptnres
<br />One of tlle highlights for many of the
<br />people who visit Hoover Dam each year
<br />is the sculpture work they find. While
<br />most people are impressed by these
<br />works, they often ask tlte question "What
<br />do they mean?"
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