Black Canyon Diversion Dam

Black Canyon Diversion Dam
Black Canyon Diversion Dam is located in Idaho
Black Canyon Diversion Dam
Location of Black Canyon Diversion Dam in Idaho
CountryUnited States
Coordinates43°55′50″N 116°26′11″W / 43.93046°N 116.43635°W / 43.93046; -116.43635
PurposePower
StatusOperational
Construction began1922 (1922)
Opening date1924 (1924)
Built byUnited States Bureau of Reclamation
Owner(s)Bureau of Reclamation
Operator(s)Bureau of Reclamation
Dam and spillways
Type of damGravity dam
ImpoundsPayette River
Height (foundation)183 feet (56 m)
Height (thalweg)112 feet (34 m)
Length1,902 feet (580 m)
Elevation at crest2,500 feet (760 m)
Dam volume81,200 cubic yards (62,100 m3)
Spillway typeOgee crest controlled by three 64-foot-long steel drum gates
Spillway capacity41,240 cubic feet per second (1,168 m3/s)
Reservoir
CreatesBlack Canyon Reservoir
Total capacity31,200 acre-feet (38,500,000 m3)
Surface area1.7 square miles (4.4 km2)
TypeConventional
Turbines2 Francis turbines
Installed capacity10.2 MW
Capacity factor70.8

Black Canyon Diversion Dam (National Inventory of Dams ID ID00282) is a dam in Gem County, Idaho.

The concrete dam was originally completed in 1924, then re-constructed between 1951 and 1955, by the United States Bureau of Reclamation. Its structure has a height of 183 feet (56 m), and a length of 1,902 feet (580 m) at its crest.[1] It impounds the Payette River for the diversion of water into the Black Canyon and North Side Main irrigation canals, and the generation of about 2 megawatts of hydroelectric power, part of the Bureau's larger Boise Project.[2] The dam is owned and operated by the Bureau.

The riverine reservoir it creates, the Black Canyon Reservoir, has a normal water surface of 1.7 square miles (4.4 km2),[1] about twelve miles of shoreline, and an original maximum capacity of 44,700 acre-feet, reduced by siltation to about 31,200 acre-feet.[3] Recreation includes boating and fishing.[4] The installation of a third hydropower generating unit has been funded by Bonneville Power Administration for completion in 2013.[5]

  1. ^ a b "Black Canyon Diversion". Archived from the original on 2012-12-07. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  2. ^ "Project details - Boise Project - Bureau of Reclamation". Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  3. ^ "Dam details - Black Canyon Diversion Dam - Bureau of Reclamation". Archived from the original on 2012-09-26. Retrieved 2012-09-16.
  4. ^ "Black Canyon Reservoir".
  5. ^ "New hydropower unit at Black Canyon diversion dam in 2013 - Emmett Me…". Archived from the original on 28 January 2013.