Santa Fe Dam
| Santa Fe Dam | |
|---|---|
Satellite view of four of the five major dams on the San Gabriel River system. Santa Fe Dam is the large structure on the bottom left (southwest).
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| Country | United States |
| Location | Azusa, California |
| Coordinates | 34°06′57″N 117°58′21″W / 34.11583°N 117.97250°WCoordinates: 34°06′57″N 117°58′21″W / 34.11583°N 117.97250°W |
| Construction began | 1941 |
| Opening date | 1949 |
| Owner(s) | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Earthfill |
| Impounds | San Gabriel River |
| Height | 92 ft (28 m) |
| Length | 23,800 ft (7,300 m) |
| Dam volume | 12,033,000 cu yd (9,200,000 m3) |
| Spillway type | Uncontrolled overflow |
| Spillway capacity | 200,000 cu ft/s (5,700 m3/s) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Santa Fe Flood Control Basin |
| Total capacity | 45,409 acre·ft (56,011,000 m3) |
| Catchment area | 236 sq mi (610 km2) |
| Surface area | 1,000 acres (400 ha) |
| Power station | |
| Hydraulic head | 87 ft (27 m) |
Santa Fe Dam is a flood-control dam on the San Gabriel River located a few miles southwest of Azusa in Los Angeles County, California. For most of the year, the 92-foot (28 m)-high dam and its reservoir lie empty, but can hold more than 45,000 acre feet (56,000,000 m3) of water during major storms. During the dry season, the basin behind the dam is used for groundwater recharge, as well as various recreational activities.
Construction of the dam began in 1941 under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), mainly in response to major floods on the river in 1938; however, work stopped in 1943 and did not resume again until 1946 due to the unlucky intervention of a major flood and World War II. The dam embankment and spillway were completed in early 1947, and the entire project was finished in January 1949 with the installation of the spillway gates, four months ahead of schedule.
Santa Fe Dam is a horseshoe-shaped curved gravity structure located on the alluvial flood plain of the San Gabriel River roughly 3 mi (4.8 km) downstream from the San Gabriel Mountains. The dam is of zoned earthen construction and has a structural height of 92 feet (28 m), standing 87 feet (27 m) above the riverbed. It is one of the largest dams by volume in the United States, containing more than 12,000,000 cubic yards (9,200,000 m3) of material in an embankment more than four miles long.
The reservoir formed behind Santa Fe has a maximum capacity of 45,409 acre·ft (56,011,000 m3) at spillway crest, 21 feet (6.4 m) below the top of the dam itself. Water releases from the dam are controlled by two sets of gates. The outlet works, located at the base of the dam, are fed by sixteen 7 ft (2.1 m) diameter conduits capable of discharging 17,000 cu ft/s (480 m3/s). The emergency spillway is located to the northwest of the dam and comprises a concrete overflow weir with a capacity of 200,000 cu ft/s (5,700 m3/s).
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