Official name Carraízo Dam Opening date 1953 Height 44 m Construction cost 60 million USD | Status Operational Type of dam Concrete gravity | |
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Purpose Water storage, recreation | ||
Carraízo Dam is a concrete gravity dam located in the municipality of Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico within the flow of the Río Grande de Loíza. Its construction was completed in 1953. Carraízo Dam impounds Loíza Lake which serves as Puerto Rico's main water reservoir.
Contents
- Map of CarraC3ADzo Dam Trujillo Alto 00976 Puerto Rico
- Background and constructionEdit
- OperationEdit
- References
Map of Carra%C3%ADzo Dam, Trujillo Alto 00976, Puerto Rico
Background and constructionEdit
At the end of the 1940s, the Puerto Rico Aqueducts and Sewers Authority proposed the construction of a dam at the Río Grande de Loíza in the Barrio Carraízo of Trujillo Alto with the intention of providing both water and electricity to the San Juan Metropolitan Area.
Construction of the dam began in 1950 and finished in 1954. As part of the construction, the dam included three hydroelectric turbines with a total capacity of 3 Megawatts for the provision of electricity. However, during the 1960s and 1970s, the turbines were shut down because their operation and maintenance wasn't considered cost-effective versus the cost of buying energy at the time.
OperationEdit
Carraízo dam is a concrete gravity dam. It features eight floodgates along its 210-meter body. The floodgates open at a height of 1 to 10 meters, but they are usually opened at 4 meters. The reservoir created by the Carraízo Dam is the Loíza Lake. Carraízo's water storage capacity is of 4,650,000 gallons, and 41.15 meters is its peak level.