Overview

McPhee Dam, located on the Dolores River, is a rolled earth, sand, gravel, and rockfill structure with a volume of approximately 6,230,000 cubic yards. The crest of the dam is 270 feet high above streambed, 1,300 feet in length, and 30 feet wide. A gated spillway located in the right abutment includes a concrete chute leading to a stilling basin. The outlet works, located in the left abutment of the dam, has two separate intake structures, and a total capacity of 5,000 cubic feet per second.

Great Cut Dike is a rolled earthfill structure with a crest length of 1,900 feet, and crest width of 30 feet. It has a maximum height of 64 feet above original ground surface. The embankment has a volume of about 189,000 cubic yards.

McPhee Reservoir was created with the construction of McPhee Dam and the Great Cut Dike in a saddle on the Dolores-San Juan Divide. The reservoir has a total capacity of 381,195 acre-feet, including 229,200 acre-feet of active capacity, 151,900 acre-feet of inactive capacity, and 95 acre-feet of dead storage. The water surface area totals 4,470 acres at the top of the active capacity at an elevation of 6924.0 feet. The reservoir extends approximately 10 miles up the Dolores River, 4 miles up Beaver Creek, 1 mile up Dry Creek, 2 miles up House Creek, and 2 miles up the Great Cut saddle to the dike.

General

Dimensions

Hydraulics & Hydrology