Historic American Engineering Record: Horse Mesa Dam, Maricopa County, Arizona

Together, Historic American Engineering Record (HAER) Numbers AZ-14 and AZ-15 describe the origins, development, and expansion of power generation and delivery facilities along the Salt River to service residents of the Salt River Valley. HAER AZ-14 (see https://core.tdar.org/document/393152) presents a full narrative history of the Reclamation Service's and the Salt River Valley Water User's Association's efforts to expand the Salt River Project's hydroelectric program. The report discusses the histories of both Mormon Flat and Horse Mesa dams, and includes photographs, drawings, and maps of Mormon Flat Dam. This report, HAER No. AZ-15, presents photographs, drawings, maps, and/or plans that detail the construction and use of Horse Mesa Dam, which impounds water along the river to form Apache Lake.

Horse Mesa Dam was the second dam constructed under the Salt River Project's 1920's hydroelectric expansion program. Currently, this dam is operated by the Salt River Project for the purposes of generating hydroelectric power and for storing approximately 245,000 acre feet of water for agricultural and urban uses.