The dam was owned by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, and diverted water into the Riverside Canal for use in irrigation in the El Paso Valley.

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

The dam, completed in 1928, was a concrete weir with radial gates, located on the Rio Grande about 15 miles (24 km) southeast of El Paso.

[5] To ensure that they got their agreed share of Rio Grande water, 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 International Dam, 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.

[6] The Riverside Diversion Dam failed on 9 June 1987 due to flooding in the Rio Grande.