Arkansas Fryingpan Project
A basic look into the project
The Arkansas Fryingpan Project is a series of tunnels and dams whose main purpose is to transfer the water from the Colorado River Basin to the Arkansas River watershed. The idea of the project came from Colorado Representative J. Edgar Chenoweth in the 1950s. The bill that funded it passed both the House and Senate in 1962 and soon after President Kennedy signed it into law.
Generally, the building of the project started in the northwest and continued in a southeasterly direction. Ruedi Dam and Reservoir, located on the Western Slope of the Rocky Mountains, was created to help counteract the effects of water being pumped over the continental divide to the eastern slope. The dam's main purpose was to provide water for the western slopes interests. The dams construction started in 1964 and lasted until 1968. Once it was completed it was able to hold 126,000,000 m 3 of water.
Boustead Tunnel is the main passage of water for the Fryingpan Project. It takes the water from the Western Slope collection system to Turquoise Lake which is located on the Eastern Slope. The tunnel itself is five miles long and can transport water at a rate of 945 cubic feet per second. Construction on the tunnel started in 1964 and took 17 years to complete. It was finished in 1981
Sugar Loaf Dam was built at Turquoise Lake it also regulates the headwaters of the Arkansas River. Its main function is to help release water to the rest of the project while it maintains control over the water that is pumped through the Boustead Tunnel. When the water level reaches a certain level a set amount of water is released. Construction started on the dam in 1965 and finished in 1968. It stands at 135 feet tall and 2,000 feet long.
Pueblo Dam is located on the Arkansas River and is west of Pueblo. Its construction began in 1970 and was completed in 1975. Then in 1998 to 2000 the dam was updated to the dam that stands today. The main purpose of the dam is to store water for irrigation along with industrial use. It also provides water for Colorado Springs via the Fountain Valley Conduit. Pueblo Dam is also the last section of the eastern part of the project.
Unlabeled images are from the Pueblo County Library District's Arkansas Fryingpan collections.