A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
A platform for research: civil engineering, architecture and urbanism
The Evolution of Water Management for Alamo Dam on the Bill Williams River in Arizona
Alamo Dam is a Corps of Engineers multi-purpose project located on the Bill Williams River, a major tributary of the lower Colorado River, in western Arizona. The project was completed in 1968, and its 1 million acre-feet of storage space was allocated among the congressionally authorized purposes of flood control, water conservation, and recreation. The operation of the project has changed significantly since its completion in an effort to increase project benefits and preserve the natural environment affected by the operation of the dam. Competing goals and objectives of a number of water resource and natural resource agencies coupled with the hydrologic characteristics of the watershed (particularly the high variability in annual runoff) were the source of conflict with respect to operation of the project in the 1980's. In addition, the original water control plan for the dam, formulated prior to the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, had made no provision for the ecological needs of the Bill Williams River. Natural resource agency concerns stemmed from the fact that the Bill Williams River harbors several endangered species and contains the best intact southwestern riparian habitat (primarily cottonwood and willow) in the lower Colorado River basin. Beginning in 1990, a multi-agency collaborative effort among Arizona Department of Game and Fish, Arizona State Parks, Arizona Department of Water Resources, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Corps of Engineers, along with the 2002 addition of The Nature Conservancy, has successfully worked to improve the operation of Alamo Dam. This paper describes the evolution of the water control plan for Alamo Dam; the approaches taken to address the needs and objectives of the various stakeholders; and the importance of continuous multi-agency engagement and collaboration.
The Evolution of Water Management for Alamo Dam on the Bill Williams River in Arizona
Alamo Dam is a Corps of Engineers multi-purpose project located on the Bill Williams River, a major tributary of the lower Colorado River, in western Arizona. The project was completed in 1968, and its 1 million acre-feet of storage space was allocated among the congressionally authorized purposes of flood control, water conservation, and recreation. The operation of the project has changed significantly since its completion in an effort to increase project benefits and preserve the natural environment affected by the operation of the dam. Competing goals and objectives of a number of water resource and natural resource agencies coupled with the hydrologic characteristics of the watershed (particularly the high variability in annual runoff) were the source of conflict with respect to operation of the project in the 1980's. In addition, the original water control plan for the dam, formulated prior to the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act, had made no provision for the ecological needs of the Bill Williams River. Natural resource agency concerns stemmed from the fact that the Bill Williams River harbors several endangered species and contains the best intact southwestern riparian habitat (primarily cottonwood and willow) in the lower Colorado River basin. Beginning in 1990, a multi-agency collaborative effort among Arizona Department of Game and Fish, Arizona State Parks, Arizona Department of Water Resources, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Corps of Engineers, along with the 2002 addition of The Nature Conservancy, has successfully worked to improve the operation of Alamo Dam. This paper describes the evolution of the water control plan for Alamo Dam; the approaches taken to address the needs and objectives of the various stakeholders; and the importance of continuous multi-agency engagement and collaboration.
The Evolution of Water Management for Alamo Dam on the Bill Williams River in Arizona
Evelyn, Joseph B. (author) / Hautzinger, Andrew (author)
Operations Management Conference 2006 ; 2006 ; Sacramento, California, United States
2006-08-03
Conference paper
Electronic Resource
English
The Evolution of Water Management for Alamo Dam on the Bill Williams River in Arizona
| British Library Conference Proceedings | 2006
Construction of Alamo river crossing
| Engineering Index Backfile | 1940
Online Contents | 1998