Completed in 1916, the dam is used to re-route part of the flow of the Neuquén River to a long irrigation canal which flows east and then southeast passing by the cities of Barda del Medio, Cinco Saltos, Cipolletti, Allen, General Roca, Ingeniero Luis A. Huergo, and Villa Regina, and then emptying into the flood plain of the Río Negro.
The dam, completed in 1916, diverted a portion of the Neuquén River's flow into an irrigation canal that runs east and southeast, passing through towns like Barda del Medio, Cinco Saltos, Cipolletti, Allen, General Roca, Ingeniero Luis A. Huergo, and Villa Regina before emptying into the Río Negro floodplain.