Huites Dam

Huites Dam, officially known as Luis Donaldo Colosio Dam, is located on the Rio Fuerte in northwestern Sinaloa, Mexico 130 kilometres (81 mi) northeast of Los Mochis. The 162-metre (531 ft)-high, hybrid concrete arch-gravity dam impounds a reservoir called Lago Huites or Presa[6] Luís Donaldo Colosio and is owned by the Comisión Federal de Electricidad.

Huites Dam
Location of Huites Dam in Mexico
Official name	Luis Donaldo Colosio Dam[1]
Location	Sinaloa, Mexico
Coordinates	26°50′41″N 108°22′08″W
Construction began	1992
Opening date	1995
Construction cost	US$ 212 million[2]
Dam and spillways
Type of dam	Concrete gravity
Impounds	Rio Fuerte
Height	162 m (531 ft)[2]
Length	426 m (1,398 ft)[3]
Dam volume	2,980,000 m3 (3,900,000 cu yd)[3]
Spillway type	Overflow, 4x radial gates
Spillway capacity	22,445 m3/s (792,600 cu ft/s)[3]
Reservoir
Total capacity	4.568 km3 (3,703,000 acre⋅ft)[3]
Active capacity	2.908 km3 (2,358,000 acre⋅ft)[3]
Surface area	93 km2 (23,000 acres)
Power Station
Operator(s)	Comisión Federal de Electricidad
Commission date	15 September 1996[1]
Turbines	2 x 220 MW Francis-type[2][4]
Installed capacity	422 MW[5]
Annual generation	875 million KWh[2]

The construction of a dam on the upper Rio Fuerte was considered since the 1940s but the first detailed studies were not made until 1974–1977. Construction started in 1992 with the excavation of a diversion channel around the dam site and the implementation of a pair of cofferdams to protect the site from floods. About 485,000 cubic metres (634,000 cu yd) of material was excavated from the site before construction on the actual dam could begin. Placement of the 2,980,000 cubic metres (3,900,000 cu yd) of concrete in the dam, hydroelectric power plant and spillway structures was completed in 29 months, with the workforce peaking at 2,671 in May 1993. Construction was completed in 1995 at a cost of roughly US$ 212 million.[2][3] The dam's two generators were commissioned on 15 September 1996.[1]

The impounded water behind the dam forms a reservoir with a capacity of 4.568 cubic kilometres (3,703,000 acre⋅ft), of which 2.908 cubic kilometres (2,358,000 acre⋅ft) is active capacity and 2.408 cubic kilometres (1,952,000 acre⋅ft) is reserved for irrigation and power production. About 1.102 cubic kilometres (893,000 acre⋅ft) are given exclusively for flood control.[3] Floodwaters are released through a spillway on the south side of the dam, controlled by four 15.5 m × 21.0 m (50.9 ft × 68.9 ft) radial gates. Water stored in the reservoir is used to provide irrigation to 89,700 hectares (222,000 acres) of land in the Fuerte River valley.[2] The dam's power plant has two Francis turbines with a combined generating capacity of 422 megawatts (MW)[5] and produces an average of 875 million KWh annually.[2] At full capacity, the plant utilizes a water flow of 235 m³/s (8,300 cu ft/s).