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49-860: The New Waddell Dam is an embankment dam on the Agua Fria River in Maricopa County, Arizona , 35 miles (56 km) northwest of Phoenix . It serves as part of the Central Arizona Project (CAP) while also providing water for the Maricopa Water District. The dam creates Lake Pleasant with water from the Agua Fria and also the CAP aqueduct. In addition, it affords flood protection, hydroelectric power production and recreational opportunities. Construction on

98-415: A 370 feet (110 m) long fuse plug embankment with an elevation of 1,711 feet (522 m). The free flow spillway has a discharge capacity of 187,000 cubic feet per second (5,300 m/s) and the fuse plug 129,000 cubic feet per second (3,700 m/s). At an elevation of 1,728 feet (527 m), both spillways would have a combined capacity of 316,000 cubic feet per second (8,900 m/s). Water from

147-486: A catastrophic failure. In 1929, after a series of hearings and debates, which eventually reached the state legislature, the State Water Commissioner ordered the spillway for the dam to be lowered 24 feet (7.3 m) to prevent excess water levels and stress on the dam. It was also required that specific water levels in the reservoir be maintained. The dam was rehabilitated until 1935, and a steel roadbed

196-418: A dam and the filling of the reservoir behind it places a new weight on the floor and sides of a valley. The stress of the water increases linearly with its depth. Water also pushes against the upstream face of the dam, a nonrigid structure that under stress behaves semiplastically, and causes greater need for adjustment (flexibility) near the base of the dam than at shallower water levels. Thus the stress level of

245-422: A drain layer to collect seep water. A zoned-earth dam has distinct parts or zones of dissimilar material, typically a shell of locally plentiful material with a watertight clay core. Modern zoned-earth embankments employ filter and drain zones to collect and remove seep water and preserve the integrity of the downstream shell zone. An outdated method of zoned earth dam construction used a hydraulic fill to produce

294-408: A lack of funding caused by poor nationwide economic conditions, the project was halted. The Water and Land Company soon went bankrupt, but William Beardsley kept the project alive. Work had been primarily done on the diversion dam and canal while only the foundation of the storage dam, a gravity dam , was completed. The diversion dam, Camp Dyer Diversion Dam, was named after Edgar J. Dyer, a surveyor on

343-468: A marina and surrounding areas containing over 450 picnic sites, 225 camping sites and several miles of trails. Because the lake is seasonal, fluctuating up to 125 feet (38 m) annually, these facilities are located for accessibility. Before the New Waddell Dam was constructed, two phases of a three-phase study were carried out to determine the effect of the dam on fisheries. Completed in 2005,

392-508: A new state law, Beardsley was able to create the Beardsley-Agua Fria Water Conservation District. The new district could raise funds through a bond issue. On December 20, 1925, the construction contract was signed, but the bonds had yet to be purchased. Five days before the contract was signed, Beardsley died. His son, Robert took over the project along with Pleasant. In early 1926, Pleasant sold

441-686: A replacement. In 1980, the CAWCS recommended the removal of any storage units on the Gila River. Recent flooding within the CAWCS area and the Orme Dam problem led to an expansion of the study to include dams for flood control. Three years later, the Bureau of Reclamation and the State of Arizona agreed on an alternative to Orme. This was known as Plan 6, and it recommended four projects: a reconstruction of

490-448: A rock-fill dam, rock-fill is blasted using explosives to break the rock. Additionally, the rock pieces may need to be crushed into smaller grades to get the right range of size for use in an embankment dam. Earth-fill dams, also called earthen dams, rolled-earth dams or earth dams, are constructed as a simple embankment of well-compacted earth. A homogeneous rolled-earth dam is entirely constructed of one type of material but may contain

539-404: A small sustained overtopping flow can remove thousands of tons of overburden soil from the mass of the dam within hours. The removal of this mass unbalances the forces that stabilize the dam against its reservoir as the mass of water still impounded behind the dam presses against the lightened mass of the embankment, made lighter by surface erosion. As the mass of the dam erodes, the force exerted by

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588-516: A storage dam, diversion dam and system of canals. The project began in 1888 with the formation of the Agua Fria Water and Land Company. The company hired George Beardsley's Agua Fria Construction Company, and in 1892, construction on the project began. In 1895, Beardsley died, and his brother William who was now president of the Water and Land Company helped continue the project. In 1896, due to

637-686: A thick suspension of earth, rocks and water. Therefore, safety requirements for the spillway are high, and require it to be capable of containing a maximum flood stage. It is common for its specifications to be written such that it can contain at least a one-hundred-year flood. A number of embankment dam overtopping protection systems were developed in the early 21st century. These techniques include concrete overtopping protection systems, timber cribs , sheet-piles , riprap and gabions , Reinforced Earth , minimum energy loss weirs , embankment overflow stepped spillways , and precast concrete block protection systems. All dams are prone to seepage underneath

686-590: A watertight core. Rolled-earth dams may also employ a watertight facing or core in the manner of a rock-fill dam. The frozen-core dam is a temporary earth dam occasionally used in high latitudes by circulating a coolant through pipes inside the dam to maintain a watertight region of permafrost within it. Tarbela Dam is a large dam on the Indus River in Pakistan , about 50 km (31 mi) northwest of Islamabad . Its height of 485 ft (148 m) above

735-474: Is 3,000 cubic feet per second (85 m/s) while the outlet works for the diversion dam and Beardsley Canal are 5,600 cubic feet per second (160 m/s), but only 4,300 cubic feet per second (120 m/s) can be diverted to the canals at a time. Water from the New Waddell Dam reservoir augments supply in the CAP and helps deliver 15% more CAP water to Arizona. Water in Lake Pleasant is divided between

784-502: Is diverted into the Beardsley Canal, which has a main extension 33 miles (53 km) long to serve 60 square miles (160 km) of the Maricopa Water District (MWD). The Beardsley Canal also has an interconnection 4.5 miles (7.2 km) south of the dam at 33°46′48″N 112°16′54″W  /  33.78000°N 112.28167°W  / 33.78000; -112.28167  ( Beardsley Canal and CAP interconnection ) with

833-402: Is released back down through the generators for hydroelectric power production. Sale of this electricity is being used to pay part of the dam's cost. The pump-generating plant contains four pumps and four pump-generators and has an installed capacity of 45 megawatts (60,000 hp). Lake Pleasant, created by the dam, offers recreational opportunities to tourists and locals. The lake is served by

882-804: The Stewart Mountain Dam , a new or larger Roosevelt Dam , the Cliff Dam on the Verde River and finally, the New Waddell Dam on the Agua Fria River (a tributary of the Gila River). On November 6, 1981, the Secretary of the Interior James G. Watt recommended Plan 6. In April 1984, it was approved with the exception of the Cliff Dam, which needed further study and would eventually be removed from CAP. In 1985, construction on

931-888: The United States Geological Survey , Bureau of Indian Affairs and the National Park Service . The secretary also serves on and appoints the private citizens on the National Park Foundation Board. The secretary is a member of the United States Cabinet and reports to the president of the United States . The function of the U.S. Department of the Interior is different from that of the interior minister designated in many other countries. As

980-490: The earth-filled dam (also called an earthen dam or terrain dam ) made of compacted earth, and the rock-filled dam . A cross-section of an embankment dam shows a shape like a bank, or hill. Most have a central section or core composed of an impermeable material to stop water from seeping through the dam. The core can be of clay, concrete, or asphalt concrete . This type of dam is a good choice for sites with wide valleys. They can be built on hard rock or softer soils. For

1029-415: The Bureau in 1992. The New Waddell Dam is 300 ft (91 m) high from the riverbed and 440 feet (130 m) high from its bedrock foundation. It is a zoned earth-fill type and is 4,700 ft (1,433 m) long; containing 16,200,000 cu yd (12,385,789 m) of material. The dam has a crest width of 35 feet (11 m) and a base width of 1,514 feet (461 m). The reservoir created by

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1078-513: The CAP (658,300 acre-feet (812,000,000 m)) and MWD (162,142 acre-feet (199,999,000 m)). Water from the CAP aqueduct is also drawn into Lake Pleasant via the New Waddell Pump-Generating Plant. During the winter months, when energy rates are low, additional water in the aqueduct is pumped a maximum of 192 feet (59 m) up into the lake for storage. During the summer months, when energy rates are higher, water

1127-492: The CAP aqueduct that allows it to receive additional water from that source. Water released into the 4.7 miles (7.6 km) long Waddell Canal first travels under the Agua Fria River via a 2,440 feet (740 m) long siphon before being returned to the surface canal where it continues south to meet the CAP aqueduct just west of Arizona State Route 303 . The capacity of the pump-generating plant, Waddall Canal and siphon

1176-697: The Gila River System be removed from the CAP plan because of their negative impacts and cost. While the two other projects ( Hooker and Charleston Dam ) were easily removed, Orme was not. Orme's removal was hampered by controversy that led to the creation of the Central Arizona Water Control Study (CAWCS) in 1979 after Secretary of the Interior Cecil D. Andrus requested that the Bureau of Reclamation identify

1225-485: The New Waddell Dam began with the excavation of its foundation. A diversion tunnel was constructed along with another to divert water releases from the Old Waddell Dam into the Beardsley Canal. Construction on the dam's intakes continued through 1991, and by the end of 1992, a controlled breach was performed on two arches of the Old Waddell Dam, allowing its reservoir to fill freely behind the New Waddell Dam, which

1274-636: The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation United States Secretary of the Interior The United States Secretary of the Interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior . The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural resources , leading such agencies as the Bureau of Land Management ,

1323-637: The asphalt make such dams especially suited to earthquake regions. For the Moglicë Hydro Power Plant in Albania the Norwegian power company Statkraft built an asphalt-core rock-fill dam. Upon completion in 2018 the 320 m long, 150 m high and 460 m wide dam is anticipated to be the world's highest of its kind. A concrete-face rock-fill dam (CFRD) is a rock-fill dam with concrete slabs on its upstream face. This design provides

1372-549: The concrete slab as an impervious wall to prevent leakage and also a structure without concern for uplift pressure. In addition, the CFRD design is flexible for topography, faster to construct and less costly than earth-fill dams. The CFRD concept originated during the California Gold Rush in the 1860s when miners constructed rock-fill timber-face dams for sluice operations . The timber was later replaced by concrete as

1421-406: The core is separated using a filter. Filters are specifically graded soil designed to prevent the migration of fine grain soil particles. When suitable building material is at hand, transport is minimized, leading to cost savings during construction. Rock-fill dams are resistant to damage from earthquakes . However, inadequate quality control during construction can lead to poor compaction and sand in

1470-467: The dam began in 1985 and ended in 1994. Its reservoir submerged the Old Waddell Dam which was completed in 1927 after decades of planning. First referred to as the Frogs Tank Dam, the original Waddell Dam was the ambition of local businessmen who wanted to develop a project that used the Agua Fria for the irrigation of around 100,000 acres (40,000 ha) of land. This was to be accomplished with

1519-406: The dam must be calculated in advance of building to ensure that its break level threshold is not exceeded. Overtopping or overflow of an embankment dam beyond its spillway capacity will cause its eventual failure . The erosion of the dam's material by overtopping runoff will remove masses of material whose weight holds the dam in place and against the hydraulic forces acting to move the dam. Even

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1568-599: The dam's reservoir is released through its outlet works or power plant to either the Waddell Canal or into Hank Raymond Lake, which is formed just downstream of the dam by the Camp Dryer Diversion Dam. The diversion dam is a composite concrete and masonry dam with a height of 79 feet (24 m) and length of 872 feet (266 m). It can store up to 590 acre-feet (730,000 m) at an elevation of 1,445 feet (440 m). Water from Hank Raymond Lake

1617-401: The dam, Lake Pleasant , has a capacity of 1,108,600 acre-feet (1.3674 × 10 m) at its maximum elevation above sea level: 1,725 feet (526 m). At maximum elevation, its surface area is 12,040 acres (4,870 ha). The maximum conservation storage level of the reservoir is 1,702 feet (519 m) when the reservoir has a surface area of 9,970 acres (4,030 ha). Conservation storage for

1666-490: The dam, but embankment dams are prone to seepage through the dam as well; for example, the Usoi landslide dam leaks 35-80 cubic meters per second. Sufficiently fast seepage can dislodge a dam's component particles, which results in faster seepage, which turns into a runaway feedback loop that can destroy the dam in a piping-type failure. Seepage monitoring is therefore an essential safety consideration. gn and Construction in

1715-456: The design was applied to irrigation and power schemes. As CFRD designs grew in height during the 1960s, the fill was compacted and the slab's horizontal and vertical joints were replaced with improved vertical joints. In the last few decades, design has become popular. The tallest CFRD in the world is the 233 m-tall (764 ft) Shuibuya Dam in China , completed in 2008. The building of

1764-578: The embankment which can lead to liquefaction of the rock-fill during an earthquake. Liquefaction potential can be reduced by keeping susceptible material from being saturated, and by providing adequate compaction during construction. An example of a rock-fill dam is New Melones Dam in California or the Fierza Dam in Albania . A core that is growing in popularity is asphalt concrete . The majority of such dams are built with rock and/or gravel as

1813-482: The needed bonds to the New York firm Brandon, Gordon and Waddell. The firm sent Donald Ware Waddell to oversee construction. Although the building of worker camps and site preparation had begun in 1925, the main construction began in 1926 with the diversion of the Agua Fria River. That same year, the dam was renamed to Pleasant Dam. By February 1927, concrete pouring for the 20 buttresses was nearing completion. The dam

1862-644: The policies and activities of the Department of the Interior and many of its agencies have a substantial impact in the Western United States , the secretary of the interior has typically come from a western state; only one secretary since 1949, Rogers Morton , was not a resident or native of a state lying west of the Mississippi River . Secretary of the Interior is a Level I position in the Executive Schedule , thus earning

1911-424: The primary fill. Almost 100 dams of this design have now been built worldwide since the first such dam was completed in 1962. All asphalt-concrete core dams built so far have an excellent performance record. The type of asphalt used is a viscoelastic - plastic material that can adjust to the movements and deformations imposed on the embankment as a whole, and to settlement of the foundation. The flexible properties of

1960-484: The project. After nearly 30 years of struggling with funding, William Beardsley hired engineer Carl Pleasant to assist with the design. Pleasant recommended hiring the engineer firm Peckham and James to draft plans for the storage dam at the Frogs Tank site. The gravity dam design was dropped, and a relatively new, cheaper and improved but controversial design was adopted: the multiple-arch buttress dam. In 1925, under

2009-501: The reservoir begins to move the entire structure. The embankment, having almost no elastic strength, would begin to break into separate pieces, allowing the impounded reservoir water to flow between them, eroding and removing even more material as it passes through. In the final stages of failure, the remaining pieces of the embankment would offer almost no resistance to the flow of the water and continue to fracture into smaller and smaller sections of earth or rock until they disintegrate into

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2058-422: The reservoir is 812,100 acre-feet (1.0017 × 10 m) and minimum storage 40,500 acre-feet (50,000,000 m). The dam sits at the head of a 1,459 square miles (3,780 km) catchment area . Located 1.25 miles (2.01 km) northwest of the dam and serving excess water levels are two different spillways : a 590 feet (180 m) long un-gated free flow with a crest elevation of 1,706.5 feet (520.1 m) and

2107-399: The river bed and 95 sq mi (250 km ) reservoir make it the largest earth-filled dam in the world. The principal element of the project is an embankment 9,000 feet (2,700 m) long with a maximum height of 465 feet (142 m). The dam used approximately 200 million cubic yards (152.8 million cu. meters) of fill, which makes it one of the largest man-made structures in

2156-541: The third phase of the study determined that the expanded reservoir has reduced nutrient concentrations due to added CAP water and that water level fluctuations have reduced fish cover, likely affecting food and spawning. Large mouth bass populations have also declined but striped bass have entered the lake, likely by eggs transferred through CAP water. Around the lake, Reclamation has taken steps to protect wildlife habitats for bald eagles and Gila topminnows . Embankment dam Embankment dams come in two types:

2205-404: The upstream face and made of masonry , concrete , plastic membrane, steel sheet piles, timber or other material. The impervious zone may also be inside the embankment, in which case it is referred to as a "core". In the instances where clay is used as the impervious material, the dam is referred to as a "composite" dam. To prevent internal erosion of clay into the rock fill due to seepage forces,

2254-414: The world. Because earthen dams can be constructed from local materials, they can be cost-effective in regions where the cost of producing or bringing in concrete would be prohibitive. Rock -fill dams are embankments of compacted free-draining granular earth with an impervious zone. The earth used often contains a high percentage of large particles, hence the term "rock-fill". The impervious zone may be on

2303-526: Was already mostly inundated. By 1994, the reservoir was filled and had nearly tripled the size of the Old Waddell Dam reservoir. That same year, the dam's pump-generating plant (New Waddell Pump-Generating Plant) began operation. The dam's cost was in excess of $ 625 million. Large sediment releases from the New Waddell Dam deteriorated the Camp Dyer Diversion Dam 1.25 miles (2.01 km) downstream. This masonry dam had to be rehabilitated by

2352-573: Was complete in October 1927. Its construction had employed up to 600 workers and cost over $ 3.3 million. Prior to its inauguration, cracks were discovered in the dam buttresses. This caused intense concerns over whether the new design would be safe in the long-term, which delayed its inauguration until February 1928. The situation was exacerbated on March 12, 1928 when the St. Francis Dam in California had

2401-526: Was installed atop it that same year. In the early 1960s, it was renamed the Waddell Dam. In 1973, construction on the Central Arizona Project (CAP) began while many of its facilities were still being planned and approved. One integral part of the project was a storage dam on the Salt River , Orme Dam . However, in 1977, US President Jimmy Carter recommended that Orme Dam and two other projects on

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