Imperial Dam and Desilting Works span the Colorado River 18 miles northeast of Yuma, Arizona. The purpose of the dam is to raise the water surface 25 feet and provide controlled gravity flow of water into the All-American and Gila Gravity Main Canals. The desilting works remove most the sediment carried by the Colorado River toprevent clogging of the canals and subsequent extensivemaintenance.
Imperial Dam is a reinforced concrete structure of the monolithic slab-and-buttress type consisting of an overflow weir, canal headworks at each end of the dam, and a sluicewaybetween the All-American Canal Headworks andoverflow weir. The dam is 3,475 feet long, including a 510-foot rockfill dike at the Arizona end. The 1,198-foot-long overflow weir, in conjunction with the California Sluiceway, is designed to pass a maximum flood of 185,000 cubic feet per second, not including any diversions to the canal systems.
General
Project
Boulder Canyon
Dam Type
Concrete slab and buttress, ogee weir
Location
On the Colorado River, 18 miles northeast of Yuma, Arizona
Longitude
-114.4669
Latitude
32.8831
Watercourse
Colorado River
Original Construction
1936-1938
National ID Number
CA10159
Base Width
76 ft
Dimensions
Crest Elevation
196.25 ft
Top Parapet (Elevation)
197.0 ft
Structural Height
85 ft
Hydraulic Height (Normal Operating Depth at Dam)
23 ft
Crest Length
3,475 ft
Crest Width
12 ft
Volume of Dam Construction Materials
196,800 cu-yds
Hydraulics & Hydrology
Spillway Type
Overflow ogee weir
Outlet Works Capacity at Elevation
6000 cfs at 166 ft
Diversion Capacity at Elevation
15,155 cfs into All American Canal headworks
2,200 cfs into Gila Gravity Main Canal headworks
31,000 cfs to 42,500 cfs into sluiceway
Spillway Capacity at Elevation
180,000 cfs
Hydrometeorological Report (HMR)
HMR 36
Contact
Owner
Title: Area Office Manager Organization: Yuma Area Office Address: 7301 Calle Agua Salada City: Yuma, AZ 85364 Phone: 928 343-8100
Operator
Organization: Imperial Irrigation District Address: PO Box 937 City: Imperial, CA 92251 Phone: 760-482-9600
More Information about the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
