News Release Archive

Bureau of Reclamation to Conduct Safety of Dams Study at Echo Dam

Media Contact: Don Merrill, (801) 379-1074, dmerrill@usbr.gov

For Release: June 14, 2010

Reclamation drill crews and geologists will conduct a two-phase field exploration program at Echo Dam for modification of the existing dam and spillway. Phase I work beginning in mid-June through early July will involve drilling three holes along the lower portion of spillway. Second phase work will begin in early September through late fall, and will consist of more drill holes near the gate structure and on the upstream face of the dam near the reservoir water line.

Reclamation considers this the optimal period of time to drill bore holes because the reservoir will be at its lowest level during the September/October timeframe after the irrigation season.

Echo Dam is a zoned earthfill structure, one mile upstream from the town of Echo and about six miles north of Coalville. It has a structural height of 158 feet and contains 1,540,000 cubic yards of materials. The spillway has a capacity of 15,000 cubic feet per second. The outlet conduit is a concrete-lined horseshoe tunnel to the gatehouse, from which two steel pipes pass through a tunnel to the valve house. The outlet works has a capacity of 2,100 cubic feet per second.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.