FIRST and LARGEST - Grand Valley Diversion Roller Dam - Palisade, CO - First of its Kind on Waymarking.com

"The Grand Valley Diversion Dam is a diversion dam in the De Beque Canyon of the Colorado River, about 15 miles (24 km) northeast of Grand Junction, Colorado in the United States. It is a 14-foot (4.3 m) high, 546-foot (166 m) long concrete roller dam with six gates, which were the first and largest of their kind to be installed in the United States.

The dam was built between 1913 and 1916 as part of the Grand Valley Project of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR) and diverts water into the Government Highline Canal for the full irrigation of 33,368 acres (13,504 ha) and supplemental irrigation to 8,600 acres (3,500 ha) in western Colorado's Grand Valley. A small hydroelectric plant with a capacity of 3,000 kilowatts (KW) was completed in 1933 on the Orchard Mesa Power Canal, a branch of the Government Highline Canal. In 1949, the dam and canal system were transferred to the Grand Valley Water Users Association, while the power plant was consigned to the Orchard Mesa Irrigation District.

Grand Valley Diversion Dam was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 8, 1991." (from (visit link) )

The Final NRHP form may be found at (visit link) .

The dam also features a fish ladder [passage]

"Low-head dams were constructed early in the 20th century to provide irrigation water for farms in Colorado’s Grand Valley. Although important to agriculture, these dams blocked upstream fish movement and eliminated many miles of habitat once suited to the endangered fish. Working with its partners, the CRFP helped restore fish passage on the lower Gunnison River near Grand Junction in 1996 with the completion of a fish ladder around the Redlands Diversion Dam. From 1996 to 2012, some 115,000 native fish have ascended the Redlands Fish Ladder including 122 endangered Colorado pikeminnow, 28 razorback sucker, eight bonytail, and one humpback chub. Fish passage was also provided on the Colorado River upstream of Palisade, Colorado with the completion of fish ladders at the Grand Valley Project Diversion Dam in 2005 and the Price-Stubb Diversion Dam in 2008. Through 2012, 58,000 native fish have passed the more upstream dam, including two razorback sucker, six humpback chub, and 22 bonytail." (from Management tab - (visit link) )

FIRST - Classification Variable: Item or Event Date of FIRST: 01/01/1913 More Information - Web URL: [Web Link]

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