PHOENIX — SRP wants to make Bartlett Dam and, by extension the lake, bigger.
The plan would be to add 97 feet of concrete to the top of the already-constructed dam, as well as expanding it on either side. A bigger dam would mean SRP could store more water, thereby making the lake three times bigger than it is now.
"That's a very important study that's ongoing and would certainly aid with water supply issues," SRP meteorologist Jesus Haro said.
SRP invited 12News on a helicopter tour of its water system. Currently, SRP said its lakes are almost full because of the wet winter Arizona has recently had. Haro said he expects those lakes to be completely full in the next few weeks.
SRP does not rely on Colorado River water. Instead, it uses water from the Salt River and Verde River, which do not make contact with the Colorado.
The plan for raising Bartlett Dam comes as a solution to a problem with a neighboring dam.
Horseshoe Reservoir's water levels have been decreasing. Drought is involved, but SRP said sediment has also accumulated at Horseshoe Dam, cutting the amount of water the lake can hold.
It would cost roughly $1 billion to clean the sediment out, and it would be a temporary fix.
Instead, SRP found it could leave Horseshoe Dam alone and raise the height of the nearby Bartlett Dam. The resulting "new" Bartlett Lake would run right up to Horseshoe Reservoir and save far more water than if they were separate lakes.
According to SRP, Bartlett Lake holds 276,000 acre-feet of water. One acre-foot of water supplies three households with water for a year.
After the dam construction, SRP said the lake would hold 628,000 acre-feet, or water for about 2 million homes.
The study should take a few more years, and if it's approved, construction would likely last into the 2030s.
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