association utility cooperative district government owned corporation industry public utility founded february 7 1903 headquarters tempe arizona usa products electricity water revenue us 2.98 billion 2014 1 operating income us 96 million 2014 1 net income us 212 million 2014 1 number of employees 5 123 2014 1 website www.srpnet.com the salt river project srp is the umbrella name for two separate entities the salt river project agricultural improvement and power district an agency of the state of arizona that serves as an electrical utility for the phoenix metropolitan area and the salt river valley water users association a utility cooperative that serves as the primary water provider for much of central arizona . it is one of the primary public utility companies in arizona . the name rio salado project spanish for salt river project is used to refer to the improvement projects along the salt river through the phoenix metropolitan area is not related to srp . contents 1 service territory 2 governance 3 history 4 salt river reservoirs 4.1 theodore roosevelt lake 4.2 apache lake 4.3 canyon lake 4.4 saguaro lake 5 verde river reservoirs and other dams 5.1 bartlett lake 5.2 horseshoe lake 5.3 c.c. cragin dam and reservoir 5.4 granite reef dam 6 canal system 7 power generation 8 membership in organizations 8.1 public affairs council 8.2 national conference of state legislatures 8.3 greater phoenix chamber of commerce 8.4 arizona chamber of commerce and industry 8.5 greater phoenix urban league 8.6 electric power research institute 8.7 large public power council 8.8 american public power association 8.9 labor and management public affairs committee 8.10 democratic attorneys general association 8.11 western governors association 8.12 council of state governments 8.13 american legislative exchange council 9 references 10 external links service territory edit srp serves nearly all of the phoenix metropolitan area . a large chunk of its electric service territory is shared with arizona public service . governance edit the association is headed by a 10 member board and a 30 member council while the district is headed by a 14 member board and a 30 member council . both are elected by all landowners in the srp service area through a debt proportionate system . for instance a person who owns five acres casts five votes . history edit early settlers in phoenix and nearby areas were forced to rely on the flow of the salt river to sustain agricultural activities . the river was prone to both floods and droughts and proved to be a less than reliable resource for the settlers . failed plans to build a dam on the river in 1897 2 combined with a series of droughts heightened the need for controlling the river . with the passage of the national reclamation act of 1902 funding for reclamation projects with low interest government loans paved the way for the creation of the salt river valley water users association the following year . over 200 000 acres 800 km of private land belonging to the ranchers and farmers in the association were pledged for collateral and the association was officially incorporated february 7 1903 becoming the first multipurpose project started under the reclamation act . 3 following on march 14 1903 this project was one of the first five reclamation projects approved under the act by the secretary of the interior . 4 construction on the roosevelt dam would commence the following year . the original roosevelt dam completed in 1911 was the highest masonry dam ever built . in 1996 it was upgraded by encasing the original construction in new concrete shown . although the construction of dams was the association s most visible and costly project an integral part of the effort was also the construction and improvement of a system of canals designed to distribute the water from the salt river among the various members living in the valley . hydroelectricity was produced at the dam site during construction and used for the manufacturer of cement and other purposes . in 1906 before the dam was completed electricity began to be produced from a hydroelectric generator within the dam . almost all of the electricity not needed for agriculture including the majority of that used in phoenix was sold to pg & e under an agreement that prohibited the united states bureau of reclamation from selling retail electricity within the city . 5 in 1936 the arizona legislature allowed for the creation of governmental districts that could finance large scale agricultural projects with tax free bonds . 6 shortly thereafter the salt river project agricultural improvement and power district was created the second half of srp as it exists today . over the next several decades a series of major improvements along the salt and verde rivers would raise the number of reservoirs in the district to six and at the same time srp was constructing and maintaining a number of other electrical generating stations throughout the state . as of 2007 srp owns or operates eleven electrical generating stations seven hydroelectric plants and has energy purchasing agreements with four major hydroelectric stations along the colorado river making them a major provider of electric service in the phoenix area . along with the six reservoirs along the salt and verde rivers srp operates dams at the blue ridge reservoir as well as the granite reef diversion dam and a number of canals making the srp a major provider of water to the phoenix area . salt river reservoirs edit srp owns and operates four reservoirs along the salt river east of phoenix . while the main function of these reservoirs is to serve as water storage for the rapidly growing municipal area they also serve as important recreational centers . the lakes are regularly stocked with fish and are supplied with boat ramps for both angling and other watersports . theodore roosevelt lake edit main article theodore roosevelt lake dedication ceremonies of roosevelt dam arizona territory col. roosevelt speaking march 18 1911 . lake roosevelt arizona theodore roosevelt dam and the roosevelt lake it forms are considered perhaps the crowning achievements of srp . with the initial funds raised by the association in 1903 an ambitious project was begun several miles east of phoenix in the tonto valley at the confluence of the tonto creek and the salt river . when it was completed in 1911 roosevelt dam was the tallest masonry dam in the world at 280 feet 85 m . 7 it was dedicated by u.s. president theodore roosevelt for whom the dam and the reservoir are named . 8 in 1996 a massive expansion project aimed at increasing the capacity of the lake was finished . 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 . shortly after completion however the area entered into a prolonged period of drought and it would be some time before the new capacity was used with the lake finally reaching historic levels of 90 % capacity in early 2005 . 9 with an at capacity surface area of nearly 21 500 acres 87 km roosevelt is the largest lake that is wholly inside the state of arizona . it can store 2 910 200 acre feet 3.5897 109 m3 of water at capacity . 10 apache lake edit horse mesa dam and apache lake main article apache lake arizona apache lake was formed by the construction of the horse mesa dam finished in 1927 . several miles downstream from roosevelt the dam stands 300 feet 90 m high . the lake itself is considerably smaller than roosevelt at only 2 600 acres 11 km of surface area at full capacity and can store 254 138 acre feet 313 475 000 m3 of water . 11 like the rest of the salt river lakes downstream from roosevelt apache lake is long and narrow filling the bottom of the canyon it resides in . it does have a hydroelectric generating station . canyon lake edit main article canyon lake arizona canyon lake the third lake on the salt river is created by the mormon flat dam . the dam was completed in 1925 being the second of the dams to be completed . 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 3.8 km of surface area when full holding 57 852 acre feet 71 359 000 m3 . like the other salt river dams it is equipped with hydroelectric generators . 12 saguaro lake edit stewart mountain dam and saguaro lake main article saguaro lake arizona saguaro lake is formed by the stewart mountain dam downstream from canyon lake . completed in 1930 it was the last of the reservoirs to be built on the salt river . it is somewhat larger than canyon but smaller than the others having a surface area of 1 280 acres 5.18 km when full holding 69 765 acre feet 86 054 000 m3 . the dam is equipped with hydroelectric generators . 13 verde river reservoirs and other dams edit after completion of the four dams on the salt river srp turned to the smaller verde river for further expansion of the project . like the reservoirs on the salt the verde reservoirs are used for recreational purposes as well as water storage and flood control . bartlett lake edit the first of the lakes on the verde river was created with the construction of the bartlett dam finishing in 1939 . at 308.5 feet 94 m tall the multiple arch dam is lacking in hydroelectric generating capabilities unlike most dams on the salt river . bartlett lake with 2 700 acres 11 km of surface area at capacity is larger than all the salt river reservoirs save roosevelt . when full the lake can hold 178 186 acre feet 219 789 000 m3 of water . horseshoe lake edit horseshoe lake is formed by horseshoe dam and was finished in 1946 upstream from lake bartlett . unlike the other dams built to this point the construction was done by the phelps dodge corporation as part of a water exchange agreement . in 1949 the city of phoenix funded the construction of spillway gates for the dam in exchange for water rights for city users . like bartlett this dam does not have hydroelectric generating capabilities . at 2 800 acres 11 km 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 . c.c. cragin dam and reservoir edit phelps dodge inc. a large mining company in arizona constructed the blue ridge dam now named c.c. cragin in 1965 to help meet its water needs . a water exchange agreement penned three years earlier promised the facilities to srp and in 2005 srp took possession of the dam and water production facilities . located on the mogollon rim c.c. cragin is not on the salt or verde rivers but is a part of the general watershed covered in the srp area . the small lake has a storage capacity of only 15 000 acre feet 19 000 000 m3 of water and is used to augment the water supply for the gila river indian community northern gila county and the town of payson . granite reef dam edit the granite reef diversion dam constructed near the confluence of the salt and verde rivers does not actually hold back a reservoir but is used to divert water from those rivers into the system of canals feeding into the phoenix area . it was actually the