Canyon Diablo

About Canyon Diablo

The primary purpose of Canyon Diablo is flood risk reduction. The dam is designed to control downstream flooding by temporarily storing excess water during storms and releasing it at a controlled rate. The dam is owned by Bia (federal). It impounds the Canyon Diablo Wash near Leupp.

The dam stands 40 feet tall and stretches 1,200 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 4 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 4,700 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 1,198 square miles. Completed in 1966, the structure is well into its service life at over 50 years old.

This dam has a low hazard potential classification, meaning that failure would cause minimal damage, limited primarily to the dam owner's property, with no expected loss of life. Its condition is rated poor, meaning the dam has recognized safety deficiencies that require remediation to address risks. The most recent inspection on record was 04/16/1999. That was over 26 years ago.

At 40 feet, this dam is taller than 87% of dams nationwide.

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