Santa Fe Reservoir McClure Dam Improvements

A detailed structural analysis at the beginning of the engineering design work found that the existing intake towers at this 70-year-old dam did not meet current seismic stability requirements and needed improvements to meet dam safety, operating personnel safety, and to provide more precise flow control of reservoir releases. Located several hundred feet from the dam crest, the intake towers could only be accessed by boat or by foot when the reservoir lake was frozen.

To solve the problem, an inclined intake structure was designed by Bohannon Huston Engineers to replace the existing vertical intake tower. Constructed of reinforced concrete, the tower has a square cross section that is 8 feet-wide and 8-feet high on the inside with 2-foot thick wall, floor, and roof sections. More than 30,000 lb of Xypex Admix C-500 were used in the construction of the structure.

Access doors will be located on the dam crest and personnel will be able to walk down stairs. The inclined intake will have sufficient space for maintenance of piping, valves, and meters which will be located inside the structure.