Pinto Dam

Pinto Dam and Billy Clapp Lake are part of the Main Canal (1951) of the Columbia Basin project. The canal is , from Banks lake to Billy Clapp Lake. From the Billy Clap Lakes outlet, the lower reach of the Main Canal continues westward to divide into the East Low and West Canals near Adco on Washington 28. The canals' total length is about 21 miles (34 km), including about 5.33 miles (8.58 km) in Long Lake. By constructing Long Lake Dam, later renamed Pinto Dam, Reclamation utilized the coulee to avoid additional canal costs. Billy Clapp Lake Billy Clapp Lake formed behind Pinto Dam along the length of Long Lake Coulee. The coulee is the result of the Missoula Floods. The reservoir is long and wide with a maximum depth of feet. Previous to the creation of the reservoir, the basin contained five smaller lakes, i.e., Long, Coffee Pot, Pot, Cold Spring and July Lakes. Pinto Dam Pinto Dam, a zoned earth and rockfill structure, is long and high above bedrock. An uncontrolled open-channel emergency spillway is provided around the left abutment of the dam in a channel excavated in rock. Billy Clapp Headworks has radial gates to regulate the flow of water into the lower reach of the Main Canal. == References ==