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Show 4. Curecanti Storage Unit The Curecanti Storage Unit involves construction of three major dams and powerplants along a 40-mile canyon cut by the Gunnison River below Gunnison, Colorado, and above the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument. The Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal Dams will capture and control the flows of the Gunnison River, which drains the western slopes of the high Continental Divide of the Rocky Mountains into the Colorado River. They will provide storage capacity for controlling the Gunnison River and for the production of hydroelectric power, as well as irrigation, flood contol, and extensive recreational benefits. Flows of the Gunnison River will be largely controlled by the 940,800-acre-foot Blue Mesa Reservoir, the largest and uppermost of the reservoirs. Water released from the Blue Mesa Reservoir through a 60,000-kilowatt-capacity powerplant at the dam will receive short-term regulation at the Morrow Point Reservoir immediately downstream. The reservoir behind Morrow Point Dam will have a total capacity of 117,190 acre-feet and an active capacity for power production of more than 42,000 acre-feet. The powerplant capacity at Morrow Point will be 120,000 kilowatts since the downstream Crystal Reservoir can regulate flows released at Morrow Point. In addition, Crystal powerplant will have a capacity of 28,000 kilowatts. Construction Activities Blue Mesa Dam The 390-foot-high Blue Mesa Dam, an earth- and rockfill dam, is completed. All work on the dam and powerplant provided for under the prime contract was accepted as complete on June 17, 1966. However, work continues on the completion contract. The dam was completed and storage of water begun in October 1965. By September 30, 1966, the new dam had impounded 303,300 acre-feet of water and formed a lake 17 miles long. On December 2, 1965, an award was made to Eagle Construction Company of Loveland, Colorado, for completion of the Blue Mesa powerplant, including installation of turbines, generators, and other electrical equipment, and construction of the switchyard for the plant. At the end of the reporting period the contractor has accomplished almost 50 percent of the work under the contract. The first generator is expected to be operable during March 1967 and the second during June 1967, with the remaining work to be finished by mid-August 1967. 91 |
