[2] Early settlers in Phoenix and nearby areas were forced to rely on the flow of the Salt River to sustain agricultural activities.

[6] In 1936, the Arizona Legislature allowed for the creation of governmental districts that could finance large-scale agricultural projects with tax-free bonds.

[7] Shortly thereafter, the Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District was created, the second half of SRP as it exists today.

The main function of these reservoirs is to serve as water storage for the Phoenix metropolitan area, with a total capacity of 3,292,054 acre feet.

The dam was resurfaced with concrete and raised an additional 77 feet (23 m), which had the effect of increasing the lake's capacity by over 20%, and providing much needed flood control space on the Salt River.

[10] With an at-capacity surface area of nearly 21,500 acres (8,700 ha), Roosevelt is the largest lake that is wholly inside the state of Arizona.

The lake itself is considerably smaller than Roosevelt at only 2,600 acres (1,100 ha) of surface area at full capacity, and can store 254,138 acre-feet (313,475,000 m3) of water.

The dam is named for a nearby geographical feature, a flat campground where Mormon pioneers from Utah would often stop on their journey to the Phoenix area.

Downstream from Apache Lake, it is considerably smaller with only 950 acres (380 ha) of surface area when full, holding 57,852 acre-feet (71,359,000 m3).

Bartlett Lake, with 2,700 acres (1,100 ha) of surface area at capacity, is larger than all the Salt River reservoirs save Roosevelt.

Unlike the other dams built to this point, the construction was done by the Phelps Dodge Corporation as part of a water exchange agreement.

At 2,800 acres (1,100 ha) in surface area when full it is slightly larger than Bartlett but has a smaller total capacity, holding only 131,427 acre-feet (162,113,000 m3) at maximum.

Phelps Dodge, Inc., a large mining company in Arizona, constructed the Blue Ridge Dam (now named C.C.

SRP operates canals running in a network through much of the southern half of the Phoenix metropolitan area that distributes water from the Salt River system.

Besides the power generated at several of the dams along the Salt River, SRP owns or operates, in part, several power generating stations throughout the state: Renee Eastman, representing Salt River Project, is on the 2013-2014 Board of Directors for the Public Affairs Council (PAC).

[17] Peter Hayes, an Associate General Manager at SRP, is on the board of directors of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce (GPCC).

[19] Molly Greene, is on the board of directors of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry serving as the Chair of Public Affairs Committee.

[29] Russell Smolden, representing Salt River Project, sits on the Private Enterprise Board of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).