Huites Dam, officially known as Luis Donaldo Colosio Dam, is located on the Rio Fuerte in northwestern Sinaloa, Mexico northeast of Los Mochis. The -high, hybrid concrete arch-gravity dam impounds a reservoir called Lago Huites or Presa Luís Donaldo Colosio and is owned by the Comisión Federal de Electricidad. The construction of a dam on the upper Rio Fuerte was considered since the 1940s but the first detailed studies were not made until 1974–1977. Construction started in 1992 with the excavation of a diversion channel around the dam site and the implementation of a pair of cofferdams to protect the site from floods. About of material was excavated from the site before construction on the actual dam could begin. Placement of the of concrete in the dam, hydroelectric power plant and spillway structures was completed in 29 months, with the workforce peaking at 2,671 in May 1993. Construction was completed in 1995 at a cost of roughly US$ 212 million. The dam's two generators were commissioned on 15 September 1996. The impounded water behind the dam forms a reservoir with a capacity of , of which is active capacity and is reserved for irrigation and power production. About are given exclusively for flood control. Floodwaters are released through a spillway on the south side of the dam, controlled by four radial gates. Water stored in the reservoir is used to provide irrigation to of land in the Fuerte River valley. The dam's power plant has two Francis turbines with a combined generating capacity of 422 megawatts (MW) and produces an average of 875 million KWh annually. At full capacity, the plant utilizes a water flow of . See also List of power stations in Mexico List of tallest dams in the world Notes and references Dams in Mexico Gravity dams Hydroelectric power stations in Mexico Dams completed in 1995