El Vado Dam/Photo Courtesy /Bureau of Reclamation
BOR NEWS RELEASE
The Bureau of Reclamation has begun evaluating the performance of El Vado dam at various levels of water storage during a first fill test. Water levels were reduced during recent construction activity as Reclamation’s Safety of Dams program works closely with local, regional, and national subject matter experts and partners to bring El Vado dam to a 21st century standard.
Because the water surface has been low for several years, the performance at increasingly higher elevations will be evaluated by checking physical parameters as the water level incrementally rises over the course of the next few months.
In 2022, the water level in El Vado Reservoir was lowered to allow repairs to the dam. That construction was halted and a suspension of work was issued to the project contractor in March 2024, due to unforeseen field conditions which posed numerous and unexpected challenges impacting the construction.
The assessments found that the steel faceplate and underlying supports are in much worse condition than originally known, necessitating a new evaluation of the dam and termination of the existing contract.
Construction will not resume for at least 3 years, and until it does, Reclamation is working with the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD) to determine other water storage options, one of which would be to store some water in El Vado Reservoir, pending the results of this first fill evaluation. The optimum result from the first fill evaluation would be to allow some storage in El Vado for 2025 runoff season. If storage is allowed, the level may be slightly higher than the top of the outlet works, which could decrease the chance of debris clogging as occurred during the high runoff in spring 2023. During the first fill evaluation, the water elevation is expected to rise incrementally and will be held at key elevations for additional monitoring and assessment.
During the October 14, 2024 MRGCD board meeting it was announced that ABCWUA, BOR, and MRGCD are finalizing an agreement to allow storage of native water at Abiquiu Reservoir. This agreement will allow alternative storage in Abiquiu Reservoir and the continued operation of the middle Rio Grande project while reclamation moves forward with the necessary safety of dams improvements at El Vado Dam.
Under Reclamation’s Safety of Dams program, alternative solutions are being developed and evaluated to reduce seepage through the dam. Reclamation will keep working with our partners and stakeholders to meet mission-essential water deliveries and storage goals. Reclamation is engaging closely with the MRGCD, the Army Corps of Engineers and other partners to ensure the safe operation of El Vado dam.
For more information, please contact the Upper Colorado Region Public Affairs Office at ucbpao@usbr.gov.