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Brock Reservoir

Brock Reservoir is a man-made reservoir located near Gordons Well, California. The reservoir consists of two basis that can hold a combined total of 2.6 billion gallons of water. It holds water from the All-American Canal until it can be used for nearby agriculture.

Structure

The reservoir sits on about 485 acres (196 ha), consisting of two holding basins. The basins are enclosed by earthen berms lined with polyethylene and a 10 inches (250 mm) layer of soil cement. Each basin can hold about 4000 acre-feet of water, 22 feet (6.7 m) deep, with a combined total of 2.6 billion gallons. A 6.5 miles (10.5 km) inlet channel connects the reservoir to the All-American Canal with a .25 miles (0.40 km) canal and siphon system returning the water to the All-American Canal for use by farmers.^[1]

Engineers filled the reservoir starting in mid-October 2010 to test for leaks. Over a 28 day period no leaks were found and the reservoir only lost 6 inches (150 mm) of water due to evaporation. The reservoir will only be used and filled with water that is not used from the canal due to rain providing farmers the needed water. The water saved in the reservoir will then be used when needed by farmers.^[1]

The reservoir is operated remotely by the Imperial Irrigation District, which supplies water to farmers in California. The district can open and close the inlet and outlet gates and regulate the amount of water diverted into the reservoir and returned to the main system.^[2]

Background

The reservoir, named after an Imperial Valley farmer and agriculture researcher Warren H. Brock, solves the problem of unused Colorado River water being lost to Mexico. Often when water comes down the All-American Canal it may not be used by farmers because rain would have provided the needed water. The unused water then flows down the canal into Mexico. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation estimates the project could save as much as 70,000 acre-feet of water a year.^[1]

The project cost an estimated $172 million. The three major water districts in the area contributed to the funding of the project with the Southern Nevada Water Authority contributing $115 million and the Central Arizona Project and Metropolitan Water District of Southern California contributing $28.6 million each. In return for their contribution, Nevada can use 400,000 acre-feet of water over 20 years and Arizona and California can each use 100,000 acre-feet starting in 2016.^[1]

The idea for the reservoir came following the 2007 drought-management plan adopted by the seven states along the Colorado River. Nevada contributed the most funds for construction because of its risk of running out of water. The more funds contributed to the project, the larger share of saved water the state would receive.^[1]