American Dam

It is about 140 feet (43 m) north of the point where the west bank of the river enters Mexico, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) from the business center.

This guaranteed Mexico up to 60,000 acre-feet (74,000,000 m3) annually, with the Americans taking the rest, except in time of drought when the shares would be reduced on a percentage basis.

The Mexicans would withdraw their water from the Rio Grande at the Acequia Madre in Ciudad Juárez about 2 miles (3.2 km) downstream from the point where the river starts to form the international border.

[3] To ensure that they got their agreed share, in 1935 Congress authorized construction of the American Dam, which measures the Mexican portion before it reached the international border and lets it continue along the river to the Acequia Madre, while diverting the rest along the new 2 miles (3.2 km) long American Canal to the Franklin Canal, used to irrigate the 90 miles (140 km) long El Paso valley.

Water is diverted into the American Canal over a weir, parallel to the general course of the river, with intake controlled by two radial gates.

This carries water for the Rio Grande Reclamation Project about 12 miles (19 km) to the Riverside Canal Heading, which is just downstream from the Ysleta–Zaragoza International Bridge.

Aerial view, from the southeast, of the corner of Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico, with the Rio Grande, American Dam, American Canal, and abandoned Smeltertown site, and the old Asarco smelter area. The dam site is below the two railroad bridges over the river. The American Dam Headquarters building (white, center) is in the abandoned Smeltertown neighborhood. A section of border wall privately constructed in 2019 is visible extending west from the dam.