A project to upgrade the safety of the 81-year-old Boca dam in California has been completed, the US Bureau of Reclamation has announced.
Works were carried out under the Safety of Dams Program to correct seismic risks at the structure. As part of the modifications, USBR added a stability berm, a 25ft wider crest and reinforced the road across the dam.
“The Trump Administration completed work in under two years to ensure the safety of downstream communities,” said Reclamation Commissioner Brenda Burman. “Through Reclamation’s Safety of Dams Program, we were able to complete these important improvements and support many local jobs while doing so—another advantage of modernizing Reclamation’s infrastructure.”
Boca Dam provides flood protection for Reno and Sparks, Nevada. The reservoir provides water for irrigation, recreation, fish and wildlife, power generation and drought supplies for the Truckee Meadows area.
Reclamation invested $26 million in the Safety of Dams project at Boca Dam. Combined with the Safety of Dams project just upstream at Stampede Dam, approximately $59 million was spent between the two projects in four years.
