The Batch Plant
Location: Lower Basin. West side of Big Boulder Island.
GPS Coordinates: 36° 2.452’N, 114° 46.356’W
Elevation: 1125′
Depth: Currently well above water. This is a great place to park the boat and take a look around. It’s also an easy kayak or paddle board trip from Boulder Beach on a nice day.
Referred to as “The Batch Plant”, the true name is the “Water Clarifying Tank”.
This structure is 15 feet deep and 110 feet across, and was used as a settling basin for the sediment-rich Colorado River water during the construction of Hoover Dam in the 1930s.
Silty water was pumped into this basin from the river, and once the silt settled out, the clean water was then piped to the Gravel Screening Plant (Agg Piles) 130 feet below, to wash the gravel used to make concrete for Hoover Dam.
The batch plant used to be submerged, but is now fully exposed due to the ongoing drought and low lake levels.
This is a favorite spot for us to beach the boat in the colder months when the water is super clear. It’s a great 25 minute swim to the Agg Piles.
