Red Bluff Reservoir (Rio Grande River Basin)
Red Bluff Reservoir is located five miles north of Orla in Reeves County, on the Pecos River forming the border of Reeves and loving counties. It extends into Eddy County, New Mexico, and takes its name from red bluffs along the river. The project is owned and operated by Red Bluff Water Power Control District for water supply, irrigation power generation, flood control and recreation purposes. In 1916 The Pecos Valley of Texas Water Users Association filed a petition with the United States Secretary of the Interior requesting aid for a reservoir. A new organization, the Red Bluff Water Improvement District, developed plans to include lands from Red Bluff to Grandfalls, Texas.
Agreement between Texas and New Mexico provided for construction in 1924. President Calvin Coolidge approved the plan in 1926. Seven water districts were combined into the Red Bluff Water Power Control District in 1927. Construction for the dam started in November 1934 and was completed by September 1936. Deliberate impoundment of water began at the same time of completion. The dam is an earthfill embankment of 9,200 feet long with a maximum height of 102 feet at the river and a width at top of 25 feet. The reservoir has a storage capacity of 310,000 acre-feet encompassing a surface area of 11,700 acres at the conservation pool elevation of 2,841.7 feet above mean sea level. The drainage area of the reservoir is 20,720 square miles.