Conchas Dam

{{Short description|Dam on the Canadian River in San Miguel County, New Mexico, United States}}

{{For|the nearby census-designated place|Conchas Dam, New Mexico}}

{{Infobox dam

| name = Conchas Dam

| name_official =

| image = USACE_Conchas_Dam_and_Lake.jpg

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| coordinates = {{coord|35|24|11|N|104|11|26|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

| country = United States

| location = San Miguel County, New Mexico

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| construction_began = 1935

| opening = 1939

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| dam_height = {{convert|235|ft|m|abbr=on}}{{cite web|url=http://ce-npdp-serv2.stanford.edu/DamDirectory/DamDetail.jsp?npdp_id=NM00006|title=Conchas Dam|publisher=Stanford University|work=National Performance of Dams Program|accessdate=2012-09-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306150927/http://ce-npdp-serv2.stanford.edu/DamDirectory/DamDetail.jsp?npdp_id=NM00006|archive-date=2016-03-06|url-status=dead}}

| dam_height_thalweg =

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| dam_length = {{convert|19500|ft|m|abbr=on}}

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| dam_crosses = Canadian River

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| res_name = Conchas Lake

| res_capacity_total = {{convert|709119|acre feet|dam3|abbr=on}}

| res_capacity_active =

| res_capacity_inactive=

| res_catchment = {{convert|7409|mi2|km2|abbr=on}}

| res_surface = {{convert|16033|acre|ha|abbr=on}} (max){{cite web|url=http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/prd/boatingweb/boatingwaterslakeconchas.htm|title=Conchas Lake State Park – (Northeast)|publisher=New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department|work=New Mexico State Parks Division|date=|accessdate=2012-09-04}}

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Conchas Dam is a dam on the Canadian River in San Miguel County, New Mexico in the United States, about {{convert|50|mi|km}} northeast of Santa Rosa.{{cite map

|publisher=ACME Mapper

|title=USGS Topo Maps for United States

|year=

|cartography=United States Geological Survey

|accessdate=2012-09-04

|url=http://mapper.acme.com/}} Forming Conchas Lake, it is a concrete gravity dam flanked by earthen wing dikes, standing {{convert|235|ft|m}} high with a total length of {{convert|19500|ft|m}}. The dam serves mainly for irrigation water supply and flood control and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

First proposed in the early 1930s, the dam was initially rejected because of its remote site and Depression conditions in New Mexico. However, the dam was made a possibility in 1935 with the passage of the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act, which authorized several public works projects in New Mexico to provide relief to unemployment. Initial site work began in 1935 with construction on the actual dam starting in 1936. In 1939 construction was completed at a cost of $15.8 million.{{cite web

|author=Schelburg, John D.

|title=Conchas Dam

|publisher=New Mexico Office of the State Historian

|url=http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=9944

|accessdate=2012-09-04

|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120320144932/http://www.newmexicohistory.org/filedetails.php?fileID=9944

|archive-date=2012-03-20

|url-status=dead

}}{{cite web

|url=http://www.conchasdam.com/history.htm

|title=History of Conchas Dam

|publisher=Conchas Dam Web Site

|date=

|accessdate=2012-09-04}}

Conchas Dam holds back a permanent pool of {{convert|61532|acre feet|dam3}}, with a maximum flood-control capacity of {{convert|709119|acre feet|dam3}}. At normal water levels the reservoir has a surface area of {{convert|2694|acre|ha}}, increasing to {{convert|16033|acre|ha}} at full pool.

The dam and reservoir are the primary feature of the Tucumcari Irrigation Project. Water released from the dam is diverted into {{convert|300|mi|km}} of canals which irrigate {{convert|41400|acre|ha}} of land in the Canadian River valley.{{cite web

|url=http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/tour/state/conchas_lake/home.html

|title=Conchas Lake State Park

|publisher=New Mexico Tech

|work=New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources

|year=1997

|accessdate=2012-09-04}} The irrigation works were built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from 1940–1942 and were turned over to the Arch Hurley Conservancy District in 1954.{{cite web

|url=http://www.usbr.gov/projects/Project.jsp?proj_Name=Tucumcari%20Project

|title=Tucumcari Project

|publisher=U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

|date=2009-05-18

|accessdate=2012-09-04}}