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arch dam. After an initial bidding process in which all bid were rejected as too high, a contract for the diversion tunnel was awarded in 1972, which was holed through the same year. The construction contract for the dam itself was awarded to the J.F. Shea
Company in June 1973. Cofferdam work continued into 1974, encountering problems with leakage though the upstream cofferdam; 24-inch (61 cm) wells were drilled below the cofferdam to intercept water. In the meantime, the dam foundation was excavated, with first concrete placement in June. Excavation and concrete work for the powerplant started the same year. Concrete work stopped in November, and resumed in April 1975. Work was behind schedule; the dam was supposed to be completed by December 1975. Concrete work resumed in April 1976, with final completion of the dam structure on August 30, 1976. Filling operations in the reservoir began on March 14, 1977, permanently blocking the diversion tunnel on April 12. The powerplant was not completed until 1978, the victim of a fire in the contractor's warehouse that destroyed many electrical components intended for the plant.
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dams. Construction started in 1964 on a materials borrow pit, with construction at the damsite beginning in 1965 for an access road and exploratory drilling. Work then stopped for five years. Initially planned as an earth-fill dam, the design was changed to a double-curvature, thin-shell concrete
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farther upstream, is a thin-shell arch dam, primarily planned to generate hydroelectric power. Unlike its upstream companions, excess water spills over the top of the dam through a notched-out, ungated spillway that can create a 227-foot (69 m) waterfall in times of overflow. Under normal
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Crystal Dam was the last of the three dams in the
Aspinall Unit of the Colorado River Storage Project to be completed. Crystal Dam's design and construction lagged behind Morrow Point and
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conditions the river flows through an 11.5 feet (3.5 m) diameter penstock to the 28 MW turbine. The dam is deep within the
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and its tributaries for agricultural and municipal use in the
American Southwest. The dam's primary purpose is
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343:. Crystal Dam and Reservoir are part of the Bureau of Reclamation's Wayne N. Aspinall Unit of the
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in 1976, Crystal Dam was inspected in 1978 by divers to verify the integrity of the structure.
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Because of
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A Francis-type turbine removed in 1989 from
Crystal Dam Powerplant is currently displayed at
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is a 323-foot-tall (98 m), double-curvature, concrete, thin
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Buildings and structures in
Montrose County, Colorado
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Dam on the
Gunnison River in Colorado, United States
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669:Colorado River Storage Project Infrastructure
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535:. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Archived from
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424:. U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Archived from
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1009:United States Bureau of Reclamation dams
212:154,400 cu yd (118,000 m)
1034:Energy infrastructure completed in 1977
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1014:Hydroelectric power plants in Colorado
251:3,970 sq mi (10,300 km)
634:at Curecanti National Recreation Area
36:Crystal Dam with overflowing spillway
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62:Location of Crystal Dam in Colorado
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1024:Curecanti National Recreation Area
478:Curecanti National Recreation Area
372:in pre-Cambrian metamorphic rock.
347:, which retains the waters of the
337:Curecanti National Recreation Area
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220:Ungated ogee-crest to plunge pool
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836:Navajo Indian Irrigation Project
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474:"Wayne N. Aspinall Storage Unit"
422:"Colorado River Storage Project"
323:located 6 miles downstream from
241:26,000 acre-feet (0.032 km)
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1044:1977 establishments in Colorado
1019:Colorado River Storage Project
632:Wayne N. Aspinall Storage Unit
345:Colorado River Storage Project
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781:Animas-La Plata Water Project
363:Crystal Dam, like the higher
628:at the Bureau of Reclamation
622:at the Bureau of Reclamation
370:Black Canyon of the Gunnison
284:1 x 31.57 MW Francis turbine
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1039:Dams on the Gunnison River
146:U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
110:38.5106889°N 107.6251667°W
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115:38.5106889; -107.6251667
743:Flaming Gorge Reservoir
603:Renewable energy portal
480:. National Park Service
290:Installed capacity
274:209 ft (64 m)
259:301 acres (122 ha)
126:Construction began
1029:Dams completed in 1977
851:San Juan–Chama Project
758:Morrow Point Reservoir
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303:Annual generation
786:Bostwick Park Project
530:"Wayne Aspinall Unit"
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188:620 feet (190 m)
158:Type of dam
811:Emery County Project
796:Dallas Creek Project
791:Central Utah Project
733:Fontenelle Reservoir
204:29 feet (8.8 m)
196:10 feet (3.0 m)
180:323 feet (98 m)
19:Dam in Colorado, USA
763:Blue Mesa Reservoir
506:on 12 November 2011
247:Catchment area
238:Total capacity
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866:Smith Fork Project
856:Seedskadee Project
846:Pine River Project
626:Crystal Powerplant
618:2012-03-03 at the
528:Redmond, Zachary.
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355:power generation.
217:Spillway type
193:Width (crest)
162:Concrete thin arch
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695:Flaming Gorge Dam
341:Crystal Reservoir
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256:Surface area
233:Crystal Reservoir
201:Width (base)
152:Dam and spillways
134:Opening date
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101:107°37′30.60″W
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98:38°30′38.48″N
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83:Colorado, USA
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968:Morrow Point
861:Silt Project
806:Eden Project
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589:Water portal
544:. Retrieved
537:the original
508:. Retrieved
504:the original
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482:. Retrieved
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456:. Retrieved
452:the original
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430:. Retrieved
426:the original
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307:137,950,098
889:Green River
748:Navajo Lake
738:Lake Powell
705:Crystal Dam
613:Crystal Dam
359:Description
317:Crystal Dam
142:Operator(s)
113: /
89:Coordinates
25:Crystal Dam
988:Categories
725:Reservoirs
700:Navajo Dam
408:References
1004:Arch dams
963:Blue Mesa
402:Teton Dam
394:Blue Mesa
225:Reservoir
774:projects
616:Archived
333:Colorado
321:arch dam
280:Turbines
167:Impounds
75:Cimarron
71:Location
973:Crystal
943:on the
376:History
327:on the
230:Creates
876:Rivers
546:11 May
510:16 May
484:11 May
458:11 May
432:11 May
185:Length
177:Height
540:(PDF)
533:(PDF)
294:31.5
941:Dams
677:Dams
548:2011
512:2011
486:2011
460:2011
434:2011
137:1977
129:1972
331:in
309:KWh
990::
520:^
476:.
296:MW
81:,
77:,
933:e
926:t
919:v
661:e
654:t
647:v
550:.
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488:.
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.