WSP06549

• File Number: 8111.600
• Description: ARCA Annual Reports
• Basin: Arkansas
• Date: 1/1/1985
• Author: ARCA
• Title: Thirty-Seventh Annual Report Arkansas River Compact Administration for the Year 1985
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Annual Report

6. Facls about the John Marlin Project:
The John Martin Reservoir Project was buill by the Corps of
Engineers, United States Army. The project was authorized by Congress
in the Flood Control Act of June 22, 1936, when lhe federal responsibility
for flood control throughout the country was assigned to the Corps of
Engineers. It is located on the Arkansas River, 58 miles upstream from
the Colorado-Kansas stateline and 18 miles upstream from the city of
Lamar, Colorado. Construction of the project began in the fall of 1939, but
work was suspended by World War 11 from the spring of 1943 to the spring
of 1946. The project was completed in October 1948 al a cost of about $15
million. The War Department Civil Appropriation Act of June 24, 1940,
changed the name of the project from Caddoa Reservoir Project to John
Martin Reservoir Project, in honor of the late Congressman John A.
Martin of Colorado. It is operated by the United Slales Army Engineer
District, Albuquerque, New Mexico, Mr. Russell Smith has been the
resident superintendent of the project since October, 1976.
The John Martin Reservoir Project is part of the comprehensive plan
for the control of floods and the development of the water resources in the
Arkansas River basin. The reservoir provides 270,375 acre.{eet oC storage
caoacitv for flood control and protection of the fertile Arkansas River
Valley below the dam. It also provides 350,951 acre-feet of storage space
for conservation and recreation.
John Martin Reservoir supplies water to the irrigated lands below the
dam as far downstream as Garden City, Kansas. The top of the
conservation pool is 3,851 feet above mean sea level, which provides
350,951 acre.feet of water for irrigation. Upon request of the Arkansas
River Compact Administration, irrigation water for downstream water
users is released through the oullet works in the base of the dam.
The release of stored flood waters in excess of the conservation and
recreation pool or above elevation 3,851 feet are planned so that, when
combined with flows originating downstream from the dam, the capacity
of the channel will not be exceeded. Downstream flood damages
prevented by John Martin dam already exceed the cost of the project and
have surpassed the $92 million mark.
Recreation and favorable fish and wildlife habilats are derived from
this project. With reservoir lands open to all, there are many attractive
public use areas for outdoor recreation, water sports, fishing and boating,
or just relaxed living. During construction some embankment material
was obtained from a 75-acre tract of land immediately downstream of the
dam, This excavated area, averaging 12 feet deep, filled with water and
formed Lake Hasty, center of year-round recreation.
John Martin Dam consists of a concrete gravity structure 1,644 feet
long and 120 feet high, and an earthfill structure 2,600 feet long. The
concrete gravity structure conlains a gated spillway provided with
sixteen 30 feet by 64 feetlainter gates with their operating machinery.
There are earthen wing dams on either side of the main dam. The north
wing dam is 3,880 feet long, connecting to the earthfiH structure of the
main dam at the north abutment. The south wing dam is 5,807 feet long
and connects to the south end of the concrete structure of the main dam. A
bituminous-surfaced roadway, 21 feet wide, extends along the crest of the

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