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Navajo Indian Irrigation Project
State: New Mexico
Region: Upper Colorado Basin Region
Related Documents
Navajo Indian Irrigation Project History (86 KB)
Related Facilities
Related Links
Mountain Snowpack Maps for Colorado, Rio Grande, and Arkansas Rivers
Reclamation's Upper Colorado Region Water Operations
Palmer Drought Index Map
Explanation of the Palmer Drought Index
Reclamation Water Information System
General
The Navajo Indian Irrigation Project is on an elevated plain south of the San Juan River, in San Juan County in northwestern New Mexico. It is bordered by New Mexico State Highway 44 on the east and the Chaco Canyon in the west. Project lands range from 5,250 to 6,450 feet above sea level, and are from 100 to 1,000 feet above the San Juan River. The project area has a temperate and semiarid climate, with a growing season of about 160 days. The annual avearage precipitation is only about 8 inches. The project is being exclusively for Navajo use on lands on or next to the Navajo Reservation. The Bureau of Reclamation is responsible for the design and construction of irrigation facilities through the turnouts at the individual farm units. The Bureau of Indian Affairs, in cooperation with the Navajo Nation, is responsible for developing the farm units, farm distribution systems, drainage, and farm-to-market roads. Based on an economic analysis made in 1973, the entire Project was designed for full-sprinkler irrigation. The project facilities are being constructed in eleven blocks of approximately 10,000 acres each were developed for irrigation. Seven blocks are currently under irrigation. The development created a large municipal and industrial water use in the San Juan Basin. Therefore, the authorization provides for these uses in addition to irrigation, but stipulates that separate contracts for such uses must first be executed and approved by the Congress.
History
In the 14th or 15th century, the Navajo Nation migrated southward into the present day southwest. In the early 1600`s, the Navajo Nation acquired sheep and horses from the Spaniards and developed skills in weaving and metal craft. They remained nomadic, moving the sheep to new pastures when forage became scarce. Federal troops which attempted to confine the Navajos to definite living areas met with resistance. Treaties signed by representatives of the Navajo Nation were not understood since those who signed them represented only a small segment of the Navajo Nation. After years of misunderstandings, many of the Navajos were forced to move south to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, although some small bands eluded their would-be captors. Those who were captured were allowed to return to their homes 3 years later, after the treaty of 1868 was ratified. The treaty provided that the Navajo Nation could return to their homeland, and restricted the lands on which the Navajos could live. This has become the largest reservation in the United States, encompassing about 24,000 square miles in Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah.The lands were fertile but required water to make them productive.
Construction
Construction on the project began in 1964 with the Main Canal headworks and Tunnel No. 1. By the end of 1977, construction was completed on the 46.3-mile Main Canal, the 14.5-mile Gravity Main Canal, the underground pipe lateral distribution systems for Blocks 1 and 2, and the Block 1 drains. Construction of the Navajo Dam Powerplant and Switchyard began in 1977. It was terminated in the same year by court order pending further environmental impact studies. Remaining project features and blocks were completed over the succeeding years to allow for orderly progress and development of the lands. When the project was first authorized, project lands provided very poor grazing for livestock. These lands were considered irrigable and well suited for cultivation and production of adaped crops. With irrigation, these lands produce small grains, hay, forage, vegetables, and fruits. Lands are devoted primarily to alfalfa, corn, pinto and other dry beans, potatoes , grain, sorghums, and irrigated pasture, with some acreage devloted to orchards or other vegetables. Blocks 1 through 7 (about 63,881 acres) are presently irrigated, and Block 8 is under construction. All other project lands are currently used for grazing. The Navajo Indian population is estimated to be 300,000 in 2000. Irrigation benefits from the project will greatly improve the standard of living for the Navajo people. Economic projections indicated that the project could create new industry and stimulate trade in related business. It is estimated that the project will provide a substantial part of the livelihood for about 17,000 Navajo people directly from on-farm operations. About 16,000 additional people would obtain a substantial part of their livelihood from the agriculturally oriented industries stemming from the development of the project. The project construction is expected to generate about 8,400 staff-years of on-site work and to require an equivalent of more than 12,000 staff-years of work in other areas throughout the country in providing the necessary services, materials, and equipment. Another 27,000 staff-years of employment will result from the increased demands by on and offsite workers for such items as cloting, food, furniture, gasoline, and other consumer goods. Facilities required in the project area to serve the needs of the farm families include schools, housing, farm buildings, roads, fences, and utility installations. There are also increased demands for such equipment as farm machinery, trucks, and automobiles. Wildlife and recreational benefits have increased on the irrigated lands and in the wooded and hilly areas to the east of the area. Fishing and picnicking around Cutter Reservoir are attractions. The Navajo Unit, a unit of the Colorado River Storage Project (CRSP), is in northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado. Together with the other three units of CRSP--Flaming Gorge, Glen Canyon, and Wayne Aspinall(1)--Navajo helps manage the resources of the Upper Colorado River Basin. Navajo serves a variety of purposes, furnishing municipal and industrial water to the surrounding area, providing irrigation water to the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP), and regulating water for power generation at Glen Canyon Dam. The Navajo Unit of the Colorado River Storage Project, situated in northwestern New Mexico, consists of Navajo Dam and Reservoir. Located about thirty-four miles east of Farmington, New Mexico, the dam captures the San Juan River. The reservoir extends into southwestern Colorado.(2) A hot, dry, and windy plateau, the San Juan River Basin receives less than ten inches of rainfall yearly. Land elevations in the area range from 5,000 feet to more than 6,000 feet above sea level. The elevation and southern location provides the area with an average growing season of around 160 days, ensuring growth of a wide array of crops when irrigation water is available.(3) Scholars generally agree that men of an unknown physical type first inhabited the New Mexico region. The first remnants of these early inhabitants in northwestern New Mexico take the form of Folsom points, curious flint points of superb workmanship, dating approximately 10,700 to 10,200 years ago. The Folsom hunters died out around seven-thousand years ago, apparently when a severe drought struck the continent, resulting in the disappearance of big game animals effectively ensuring the demise of the cultures which hunted them. West of the Continental Divide another indigenous culture, the Cochise, fared much better than the Folsom hunters when drought struck. With an economy based upon collection of wild foods and hunting of small game, the Cochise adapted to the change in climatic conditions and thus formed the basis from which the later Pueblo farming cultures developed. Cochise artifacts and small primitive ears of corn discovered in 1949 gave scholars the first real evidence of an agricultural society dating back four or five thousand years. These early agricultural endeavors likely represented only a small portion of food procurement activities. Evidence indicates that inhabitants of the southwest did not move from their dominantly hunting and gathering pattern into a largely agricultural society until around twenty-five hundred years ago; these first permanent settlements likely occurred in the vicinity of the Gila and Salt Rivers which provided the necessary water for irrigation. The development of full-blown agriculture heralded a transformation of the simple Cochise way of life into a more sophisticated southwestern tradition. The first of the more sophisticated cultures emerged around 2,100 years ago. The Mogollon, as archaeologists categorize them, were the first representatives of the new traditions. They lived along the present day New Mexico-Arizona border. Characterized by their pit-house villages, ceremonial lodges, production of artistic ceramics, and farming on mesa tops and in stream valleys, the Mogollon soon became the cultural leaders of the southwest. In a process similar to that of the Mogollon tribe, residents of the current Four Corners area began to adopt new traditions. Beginning about fifteen hundred years ago the Basketmakers, a desert, gathering people were named after their superbly woven baskets left behind in dry caves, evolved into the Anasazi, the direct ancestors of the historic Pueblo cultures. Anasazi, a word used by the Navajo and later archaeologists to designate the prehistoric inhabitants of the Four Corners region and generally considered to mean `the Ancient Ones,` actually means `enemy ancestors.` Much to the chagrin of current Pueblo peoples, the English usage of the word has become widespread and few recognize or acknowledge the historic meaning of the word. The Anasazi built large urban centers with towering buildings; these apartment complexes gave the Pueblos their name when visited by the Spanish explorers of the area. The Pueblos created elaborate irrigation works and complex systems of communication and trade while continuing to hunt and produce elaborate ceramic pottery. The Anasazi are perhaps best known for their elaborate cliff dwellings at Mesa Verde, Colorado, though other notable ruins exist within Chaco Canyon, Aztec, Bandelier, and Pecos National Monuments in New Mexico. Eventually the Anasazi abandoned several of their settlements, including Mesa Verde around 1200; smaller tribes moved together creating large communities. Archaeologists have yet to determine if the arrival of the Navajo tribe in the region contributed to the sudden departure of the Anasazi. It was in the larger Anasazi communities, located largely in the valleys of the Rio Grande and its tributaries and on the Pajarito Plateau, that the Spanish found the Pueblo Indians in the sixteenth century.(4) Pueblo culture developed in the Four Corners area where the Navajo Project is located. By the Spanish period Pueblo cultures had migrated south and east to Hopi, Zuni, Acoma, Laguna, and the Rio Grande Valley. Spanish occupation of the Rio Grande Valley little affected Northwest New Mexico which was seldom visited by the Spanish. There was, however, continued tension and friction among the Spanish, Pueblos, and Navajo/ Apache.(5) William and Simeon Hendrickson, two gold seekers from Animas City, Colorado, founded the town of Farmington, New Mexico in 1876. Soon becoming an agricultural supply center for the Rocky Mountain mining camps of the San Juan Basin, Farmington boasted a small but steadily growing population that thrived on fruit and cereal production. The founding in 1881, of the nearby city of Durango, Colorado, located fifty miles northwest, coupled with the 1880s arrival of William Jackson Palmer`s Denver and Rio Grande Railroad (D&RG) in Durango, set-off a burgeoning race between the two cities for control of the limited natural resources in the area. General Palmer and Edward Henry Harriman, president of the Southern Pacific Railroad, fostered the rivalry between the two towns; both sought to establish a link between Farmington and the transcontinental lines which intersected at Gallup, New Mexico. After considerable negotiation, Harriman eventually secured the contract, he envisioned transporting coal to the port city of Guaymas, Mexico for shipment and sale oversees, however his untimely death in 1909 and the outbreak of the Mexican Revolution one year later halted the project. In the meantime, the D&RG built a short-line narrow-gauge connection between Farmington and Durango. Harriman's death left the short D&RG line as the only rail transportation in Farmington. In the next few decades Farmington became one of many small towns across America struggling to capitalize on its nearby natural resources by producing alternative sources of energy for the growing populace. In 1926, miners made a major petroleum strike just southwest of Shiprock on the Navajo Reservation; with the advent of motor travel in the 1920s, oil replaced coal as the nation`s leading fuel. The petroleum strike stimulated Farmington`s first true population boom with geologists and roughnecks converging on the previously tranquil agricultural community. For the most part, newcomers found work in the oil fields or at the newly built Continental Oil gasoline factory. Further population growth and natural resources booms followed. In 1932, the Southern Union Gas Company of Dallas, Texas, discovered natural gas in the San Juan Basin. Southern Union Gas made a second significant find in the Barker Dome area, fifteen miles northwest of Farmington, in October of 1946. Three years later, in 1949, El Paso Natural Gas announced plans for a multimillion-dollar pipeline from San Juan Basin gas fields to Toprock, Arizona. From Toprock the pipeline would join the Pacific Gas and Electric pipeline to supply San Francisco with gas for heating. At the same time that petroleum based resources were being developed in the Farmington area, an energy boom of another kind occurred near Durango. After World War II, fueled by the developing Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union and a priority shift towards national security, the U.S. began stockpiling atomic-weapons. The shift in focus to atomic energy brought yet another energy boom to the area when the Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) released a report in January of 1948, estimating that the majority of the world`s uranium reserves were located in southeast Utah and southwest Colorado. The news of the abundance of uranium coupled with governmental plans to reactivate Durango`s smelter, closed since the end of the silver mining days in the 1880s, caused local residents to envision Durango as the nation`s leading producer of uranium concentrate. Local predictions seemed destined to become a reality after President Harry Truman`s State of the Union address in 1952. Truman proposed a record-breaking defense budget, stressing production of small atomic weapons and nuclear submarines for national security reasons and underscoring the need for increased uranium production in the Mountain West. The booming energy development lead to a population boom in both Durango and Farmington. By 1952, Farmington had become the fastest growing city (in terms of percentage) in New Mexico. Not to be outdone, Durango continued to proclaim itself the `region of wealth.` in 1956, Farmington boasted a population of more than 15,000 residents, four times that of the 1950 census. Observers attributed Farmington`s meteoric growth to a multifaceted economy that combined energy resource development, irrigated agriculture, and manufacturing. Plans for construction of nearby Navajo Dam fit nicely into the diverse mixture.(6) A scarcely tapped potential of agricultural, industrial, and recreational assets exists in the Upper Colorado River Basin. It contains tremendous quantities of uranium, coal, and other minerals. Realization of the potential in economic growth and contribution to the national welfare depends upon the maximum use of limited water supplies. Reclamation designed the Colorado River Storage Project to conserve the very limited precipitation, which falls primarily in the form of snow in the high mountains, and use it for municipal, industrial, and agricultural growth in the Upper Colorado River Basin. In addition the project provides municipal and industrial water supplies, flood control, extensive recreation, and fish and wildlife preservation.(7) Reclamation began investigations, with an eye for development, of the Upper Colorado River system in 1902. By 1922, and negotiation of the Colorado River Compact,(8) Reclamation began envisioning a need for the Colorado River Storage Project. The allocation of 7.5-million acre-feet of water per year to both the upper and lower basins, as specified in the Compact, hinged on the upper basin`s delivery of not less than 7.5 million acre-feet of water in any period of ten consecutive years, with additional water for use in Mexico. In 1949, Congress approved the Upper Colorado River Basin Compact, which allocated the 7.5 acre-feet of water allowed between the four upper basin states (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming). The flow of the Colorado varies erratically from year to year, ranging from four to twenty-two million acre-feet per year at Lees Ferry. Dry years meant that the Upper Basin had trouble providing water committed to in the Colorado River Compact. Additionally, there was not enough water in the river system to permit full use of the Upper Basin allocations under the Compact. In order to fully use the upper basin`s allocation during dry years large storage reservoirs needed to be built; filling the reservoirs would allow the upper basin to meet their flow requirements in dry years while still providing water to the Lower Colorado River Basin under the Colorado River Compact. Reclamation, in conjunction with the Upper Colorado River Commission and other Federal agencies, prepared a formal report in 1950 describing plans for a series of dams and reservoirs, including power development and other services, to augment development in the upper basin. The report outlined plans for an initial group of participating projects, developing water for irrigation and other purposes, financially linked with the developing Colorado River Storage Project. Revenues from hydropower developed at the CRSP units (Glen Canyon, Flaming Gorge, and Wayne Aspinall) would be used to fund smaller irrigation projects known as participating projects. After modifying Reclamation`s original plan, Congress authorized construction of four storage units and eleven participating projects of the Colorado River Storage Project by the act of April 11, 1956. The original authorization included the four CRSP storage units, Glen Canyon, Flaming Gorge, Wayne Aspinall, and Navajo; the initial phase of the Central Utah Project (CUP), Emery County, Florida, Hammond, La Barge, Lyman; and additional work at Paonia, Pine River Extension, Seedskadee, Silt, and Smith Fork. Reclamation later found the La Barge Project in Wyoming infeasible and deleted it from the project. Other participating projects and their date of authorization: Animas-La Plata (1968); Bostwick Park (1964); Dallas Creek (1968); Dolores (1968); Eden (1949); Fruitland Mesa (1964); Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (1962), a Bureau of Indian Affairs project constructed by Reclamation; San Juan-Chama (1962); San Miguel (1968); Savery-Pot Hook (1964); and West Divide (1968).(9) Work on the Navajo Dam and Reservoir began October 8, 1956, with establishment of the Navajo Dam Unit Field Office at Farmington, New Mexico.(10) Prior to start of construction on the project, the National Park Service (NPS), the New Mexico State Museum of Natural History, and Reclamation conducted an archaeological program examining, recording details, and preserving the artifacts, of a small portion of the archaeological sites within the project area. For the most part, these investigations concentrated on the lower canyons and river bottoms; researchers paid little attention to the mesa tops.(11) On June 19, 1958, after completion of the archaeological investigations, Reclamation opened bids for construction of Navajo Dam and Reservoir. Six days later, June 25, Reclamation awarded the contract to Morrison-Knudsen Co., Inc., Henry J. Kaiser Co., and F & S Contracting Company, joint bidders for the contract. The contractors began work on the dam July 30, 1958.(12) Work on the project proceeded steadily. The contractor `holed through` the main outlet-works diversion tunnel on January 27, 1959 and the auxiliary outlet-works tunnel on April 27. Work then began on the concrete lining of the outlet-works tunnel which the contractor completed on October 30, 1959. By the end of the year, December 30, the contractor completed first-stage concrete and protective work in the outlet-works tunnel and portal structures as required for diversion of the river through the tunnel.(13) Diversion of the river through the main outlet-works tunnel occurred on January 4, 1960. In March, the contractor completed the concrete lining for the auxiliary outlet-works tunnel. Grouting of the outlet-works and access tunnel and shaft was completed on April 30. The contractor reached a milestone in construction on the project August 31, 1960, the first month they reached the one-million cubic yard mark; they placed 1,019,000 cubic yards of dam embankment during the month of August. On December 19, the contractor completed first-stage concrete for the main outlet-works intake structure, finishing out construction for the year.(14) The contractor completed installing the trashracks and the elliptical bulkhead gate on the outlet-works intake structure on January 20, 1961. By July 21, 1961, the spillway structure, with the exception of one wall section and footing, had been completed. On August 1, Miles-Sierra General Contractors, the Morrison-Kaiser-F & S subcontractor for furnishing and placing riprap for Navajo Dam, began placing riprap in the spillway stilling basin. The subcontractor completed the project September 15, 1961. As construction of Navajo Dam steadily progressed, on June 30, 1961, Reclamation awarded the contract for clearing the Reservoir area to Universal Grading Company, of Albuquerque, New Mexico. The contractor began clearing operations on July 18. Nearly a year later, on June 12, 1962, Reclamation accepted as complete all work on the contract.(15) On May 22, 1962, the contractor held a brief ceremony recognizing the 25,000,000th cubic yard of material in the Navajo Dam embankment, an earthfill structure, another construction milestone. Just over a month later, on June 27, the contractor placed stop logs at the diversion inlet of the outlet-works intake structure, beginning storage in the Navajo Reservoir. The thirty-six-inch bypass at the Dam was closed July 1 and the contractor began placing second-stage concrete in the outlet-works intake structure. On August 22, the contractor topped out the Navajo Dam embankment. Prior to actual completion of the dam, Reclamation held dedication ceremonies for Navajo Dam. With numerous Federal, state, and local officials in attendance, Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall gave the principal address. Another year passed before Reclamation transferred the dam to Operation and Maintenance (O&M) status, during which time the contractor completed work on the structure. The contractor completed the placing of riprap on the upstream face in October of 1962 and concrete work on January 20, 1963. Reclamation accepted all work as complete on the structure April 20, 1963. On July 1, 1963, after a pre-transfer inspection in April, Reclamation transferred the Navajo Dam and Reservoir to O&M status. At the same time the administrative duties for the project moved to the Durango, Colorado, office from Farmington, New Mexico.(16) During the construction phase of the project, Reclamation relocated two major construction obstacles, the Pine River Cemeteries and portions of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad (D & RGW) line, both of which would be inundated by filling of the reservoir. Reclamation awarded the contract for relocation of the Pine River Cemeteries to Milton L. Wiley on February 16, 1959. The contractor began work on the disinterment and reinternment of thirty-four burials on March 10. All work on the project was completed on May 10, 1959, with all known burials in the Pine River arm of the Navajo Reservoir reinterned in the Los Martinez Church Cemetery, New Mexico, and the La Boca Cemetery, Colorado. A second cemetery relocation, the Rosa and Family Cemeteries, Navajo Reservation, began August 2, 1961, when Reclamation awarded a contract to Western Vault Company, of Holyoke, Colorado. The contractor began work on August 18, in the New Rosa Cemetery area. On September 29, 1961, Reclamation accepted all work on the contract as complete. The contractor preformed a total of 254 disinterments and reinternments. Work on the contract included moving twenty grave markers from the original grave sites and furnishing and placing 234 new permanent markers. On November 27, 1962, Reclamation awarded a contract to H. C. Flaugh Construction Company of Cortez, Colorado, for construction of a Pioneer Memorial in the new Santa Rosa Cemetery. The contractor did not begin work until March of 1963. The memorial was completed April 29, 1963.(17) On July 7, 1959, Bureau and D & RGW Railroad officials inspected the proposed alignment for relocation of the railroad around the upper end of the Navajo Reservoir.(18) Reclamation awarded a contract for initial stages of the relocation of the line the following year on October 24, 1960, to Colorado Constructors, Inc. The contractor, responsible for earthwork and structures relocation, began work the same day. Reclamation accepted all work on the contract as completed on July 20, 1961. Reclamation awarded the contract for ballasting and track laying on March 7, 1962, to Wm. A. Smith Contracting Co., Inc., of Kansas City, Kansas. Reclamation accepted the contract as complete on September 7, 1962.(19) Navajo Dam, a rolled earthfill structure, spans the San Juan River. Containing 26,840,863 cubic yards of materials, the dam extends 3,648 feet with a structural height of 402 feet. With a maximum base width of 2,566 feet, the structure narrows to a top width of thirty feet.(20) During construction, the dam held the distinction of being the second largest earth dam ever built by Reclamation; at the time only Trinity Dam under construction in California surpassed it in size.(21) The spillway sits on the right abutment, comprised of an approach channel, concrete crest structure without gates, spillway bridge, concrete chute and stilling basin, and outlet channel. In the chute section the width of the spillway measures 138 feet, expanding to 195 feet in the stilling basin. The spillway was designed for a maximum capacity of 34,000 cfs. The outlet works, located on the right abutment, allows water releases to meet downstream requirements. Water travels through an 18.75-foot diameter concrete-lined outlet works tunnel, controlled by one 6- by 13-foot fixed-wheel gate, two 72-inch ring-follower gates, and two 72-inch hollow-jet valves. The 1,603 foot long tunnel has a discharge capacity of 4,200 cubic feet per second (cfs) at elevation 6101.5. Also located in the right abutment, the auxiliary outlet works, comprised of a concrete intake structure and a concrete-lined tunnel with a gate chamber for two 4-foot-square gates, discharges into the spillway stilling basin.(22) The main canal headworks, adjacent to the left abutment, incorporates the Navajo Unit with the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project (NIIP). Constructed as part of the NIIP, the headworks control water releases into the canal system of the irrigation project. Construction of the headworks began in 1966.(23) On the New Mexico side, Navajo Reservoir extends thirty-five miles up the San Juan River and thirteen miles up the Pine River. On the Colorado side, the reservoir extends four miles up the Piedra River. With a total capacity of 1,708,600 acre-feet and an active capacity of 1,036,100 acre-feet, the reservoir occupies 15,610 acres when filled.(24)
Plan
Irrigation water is released at Navajo Dam through a diversion headworks. Irrigation water travels through a series of approximately 48.8 miles of concrete lined open canals, 1.2 miles of membrane lined open canals, 7 tunnels totaling 12.8 miles in length, 15 siphons totaling 7.1 miles in length, and a 1.5-mile-long in-line earth channel and reservoir behind Cutter Dam. Three pumping plants lift water to concrete lined open laterals. At full capacity, the system will carry 1,800 cubic feet per second. Two open lateral systems, totaling 40.6 miles in length, convey water to the southern and eastern parts of the development. Water is distributed ti the turnouts at the individual farm units through about 340 miles of underground pipe lateral systems ranging from 6 to 84 inches in diameter. Navajo Dam, one of the key structures of the Upper Colorado River development, is in the deep and curving canyon of the San Juan River, 39 miles east of Farmington, New Mexico. The reservoir, formed by the earth and rockfill structure, extends 35 miles upstream, has a maximum storage capacity of 1,709,000 acre-feet of water, and is designed for multiple purposes. It provides the storage required for the project in addition to regulating flows of the San Juan River. It also provides recreational and fish and wildlife conservation facilities. A penstock was installed in the outlet works which permitted the development of a downstream powerplant. This powerplant has been developed by the city of Farmington for municipal power production. Construction of the dam was started during the summer of 1958 and was completed during the fall of 1962. The total cost of Navajo Dam and the appurtenant structures was $36, 634,560. Project plans originally included construction of a 23-megawatt powerplant and switchyard at Navajo Dam to furnish a part of the energy required by the project. Construction of the plant and purchase of the related equipment started between 1974 and 1976. The United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ordered that construction of the Navajo Dam powerplant cease. The decision cited the inadequate Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and lack of authority to construct the plant. After the project concluded further environmental studies on the river, the effects of a powerplant, and initiated action to complete a new EIS and obtain authorization, the city of Farmington applied with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to construct a powerplant at Navajo Dam for their use. The FERC issued a license to the city of Farmington to construct the powerplant. The plant has been built to provide power to the city's customers. The powerplant is adjacent to the downstream toe of Navajo Dam, with a capacity of 23,000 kilowatts. Other electrical facilities include two substations and 164 miles of transmission and distribution lines, which have a capacity ranging from 2.4 to 115 kilovolts. There will be about 84.6 miles of 34.5 to 230 kilovolt lines, extending into irrigation Blocks 4 through 11, for booster pumps and canal conveyance check structures. Natural gas lines serve Blocks 1,2, and 3. The drain system includes 200 miles of collector drains to handle 10- and 25-year frequency storm runoff and irrigation return flow. These drains are trapezoidal, with 2:1 side slopes. The slope of the drain is designed to provide a maximum 3 feet per second to prevent erosion. They are unlined, with base widths ranging from 4 to 10 feet. The Kutz Pumping Plant is east of New Mexico State Highway 44. It lifts water from the Main Canal to Coury Lateral which flows southward through Block 5. Using 5 electric motor-driven pumps, this plant has a capacity of 200 cubic feet per second with a dynamic head of 365 feet. It was completed in 1982. The Gallegos Pumping Plant is near where the Main Canal crosses Gallegos Canyon. It lifts water from the Main Canal to Burnham Lateral, Stage 1. It has 8 electric motor-driven pumps, and has a capacity of 880 cubic feet per second, with a total dynamic head of 337 feet. It was completed in 2000. Construction on the Moncisco Pumping Plant is scheduled to begin in 2003. It will lift water into the Burnham lateral, Stage 2, and open channel lateral, which will provide water for pumping plants to irrigate Blocks 10 and 11. Current design estimates call for this pumping plant to have a total capacity of 440 cfs and a total dynamic head of 168 feet. The Main Canal conveys water from Navajo Reservoir to the project lands and provides water to iumping plants in irrigation Blocks 1, 4, and 5. In addition, it supplies water to the Gravity Main Canal, the Amarillo Canal, and Burnham and Coury Laterals. It was completed in 1977. The Main Canal has a capacity ranging from 1,800 to 1,285 cubic feet per second and consists of 25.75 miles of concrete lined, open channel canals, 11.51 miles of tunnels, 7.35 miles of siphons, a flume about 500 feet long, a 0.6 mile unlined canal, and a dam and reservoir ( Cutter Dam [http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/dams/nm00121.htm] and Reservoir). Cutter Dam is an earth and rockfill dam about 95 feet high above the riverbed, 145 feet high above the foundation. It has a crest lengthtof 956 feet and a crest width of 30 feet. It is 478 feet wide at the base. The reservoir is .9 mile and has an area of 63.5 acres at normal water surface. It has a storage capacity of 700 acre-feet. The Gravity Main Canal continues off of the westernmost point of the Main Canal at West Gallegos Wash and flows northwest approximately 14.5 miles. It provides water for irrigation Block 2 and part of irrigation Block 6. It consists of 12.5 miles of concrete lined, open channel canals, a 1.4 mile tunnel, and 0.3 mile of siphons. It was completed in 1977. Amarillo Canal branches off the Gravity Main Canal at Amarillo Canyon and extends westward. It provides water to intermediate pumping plants, which provide water to irrigation Blocks 3, 7 and part of 6. It consists of 11.3 miles of concrete lined, open channel canals and siphon about 500 feet long. It was completed in 1978. The Coury, Burnham West, Burnham Stage 1, and Burnham Stage 2 Laterals total about 21.6 miles. These laterals are concrete-lined, trapezoidal sections, with 1 and 1/2 :1 or 2:1 side slopes. The base widths range from 5 to 14 feet and water depths range from 3.5 to 9 feet. Capacity ranges from 75 to 595 cubic feet per second. A closed pressure distribution system will consist of about 340 miles of underground pipelines. These pipes will range from 6 to 96 inches in diameter and will distribute water to the farm turnouts. Reclamation's responsibility is to design and construct the irrigation facilities from the headworks at Navajo Dam through the individual farm turnouts. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Navajo Nation are responsible for developing farm units, including the farm distribution systme, drainage, and farm improvements. The Navajo Nation established the Navajo Agricultural Products Industry (NAPI) to farm the project. Reclamation transferred the operation and maintenance of the completed project facilities to NAPI in 1985.
Contact
Contact
Organization: Farmington Construction OfficeAddress: 300 West Arrington, Suite 50
City: Farmington, NM 87401-8442
Fax: 505-326-4388
Phone: 505-325-1794
Owner
Title: Public Affairs OfficerOrganization: Upper Colorado Regional Office
Address: 125 South State Street, Rm 7102
City: Salt Lake City, UT 84138-1102
Fax: 801-524-5499
Phone: 801-524-3774
