![]() The plant is about 1 mile south of Palisade at the lower end of the Orchard Mesa Power Canal adjacent to the Orchard Mesa Pumping Plant. The canals have capacities of 85 and 65 cubic feet per second, respectively, and a combined length of 31.6 miles. Water is conveyed to privately owned and operated laterals by Orchard Mesa Canals No. 1 two have a combined capacity of 60 cubic feet per second with a lift of 130 feet to Canal No. The plant contains four pump units: two have a combined capacity of 80 cubic feet per second and a lift of 41 feet to Canal No. Orchard Mesa Pumping Plant lifts water from the Orchard Mesa Power Canal to the distribution system. The siphon is reinforced concrete with a capacity of 800 cubic feet per second. The Orchard Mesa Siphon conveys water from the Government Highline Canal to the head of the 3.5-mile-long Orchard Mesa Power Canal on the east side of the river. Power is provided to the hydraulic pump by water delivered to the Price Ditch for the Palisade Irrigation District. It lifts 25 cubic feet per second of water 31 feet to the Stubb Ditch to serve land of the Mesa County Irrigation District. 3 Outlet at the east end of the Grand Valley. The Price-Stubb Pumping Plant is on the canal near Tunnel No. The drainage system consists of 2 miles of closed drains and 110.5 miles of deep open drains. The distribution system for the Garfield Gravity Division consists of 166 miles of laterals. The remaining flows are distributed through the Government Highline Canal and Price-Stubb Pumping Plant. It has a diversion capacity of 1,675 cubic feet per second, which includes 800 cubic feet per second for the Orchard Mesa Power Canal. The canal is on the west and north side of the river and extends from the Grand Valley Project Diversion Dam south and west a distance of 55 miles. These gates were the first of their type designed in the United States. Flow over its crest is controlled by six roller gates. This concrete weir is 14 feet high and 546 feet long. The diversion dam is on the Colorado River about 8 miles northeast of Palisade. Water also is furnished to 8,580 acres in the Mesa County and Palisade Irrigation Districts which were served by private facilities prior to project construction. 1 and 2 for distribution to the water users.įrom the Orchard Mesa diversion, the Government Highline Canal continues westward, approximately paralleling the river, distributing water to laterals of the Garfield Gravity Division. This water passes through the Orchard Mesa Siphon under the Colorado River, through the Orchard Mesa Power Canal to the Grand Valley Powerplant, or to the Orchard Mesa Pumping Plant, where it is pumped into Orchard Mesa Canals No. Approximately 4.6 miles below the main diversion, water for the Orchard Mesa Diversion is diverted from the canal. Water for project use is diverted into the Government Highline Canal at the Grand Valley Project Diversion Dam, about 23 miles northeast of Grand Junction. It is too fragile and hard to access for public tours.Ĭlick here to visit the US Bureau of Reclamation webpage for the Grand Valley Project. I was about ten years old when my grandfather unexpectedly passed away and we kind of lost our passport to this magical land.”Ī unique German design, it is one of four roller dams in the country. “You walk up on the catwalk above the rollers and it still gives you that massive same impression that I had 55 years ago,” said Hines. Gary Hines has a special relationship with the roller dam – his grandfather was the dam’s caretaker for 33 years. “The sound of the waterfall, the water sloshing up against the wall here, it is a great place to be.” “I love it,” said current caretaker Alfonzo Gallegos. Water first turned into the canal in 1915, and a caretaker has watched after the dam day and night ever since, KKCO-TV reported. “We know we live in a high desert it would just be too hot to live here, because it also waters trees, so we really wouldn’t exist without it, said Weidner. The water is siphoned off into the Highline Canal, sending water to 33,000 acres of farms, fields, and wineries. The six 70-foot rollers move up and down depending on the amount of water to be let through. “I feel like this is a great opportunity to educate people and let them know it’s an important dam.” “You know you see it with those orange towers and maybe a lot of people don’t know the significance of the dam,” said Palisade Historical District’s Charlene Weidner. At 14 feet high and 546 feet long, the Grand River Diversion Dam is one of the biggest roller dams in the world, and it just turned 100 years old. Many people pass by and marvel at its size. From the Associated Press via The Greeley Tribune: ![]()
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