Conemaugh Dam

Conemaugh Dam
Location of Conemaugh Dam in Pennsylvania
Country United States
Location Indiana/Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania
Coordinates 40°28′05.04″N 79°21′58.44″W / 40.4680667°N 79.3662333°W / 40.4680667; -79.3662333Coordinates: 40°28′05.04″N 79°21′58.44″W / 40.4680667°N 79.3662333°W / 40.4680667; -79.3662333
Purpose Flood control, power
Status Operational
Opening date 1952
Owner(s) U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Concrete gravity
Impounds Conemaugh River
Height 144 ft (44 m)[1]
Length 1,266 ft (386 m)[1]
Reservoir
Creates Conemaugh River Lake
Total capacity 355,000 acre·ft (0.438 km3)[1]
Catchment area 1,351 sq mi (3,500 km2)[1]
Power station
Name Conemaugh Hydroelectric Station
Coordinates 40°27′49.85″N 79°21′57.38″W / 40.4638472°N 79.3659389°W / 40.4638472; -79.3659389
Commission date 1989
Turbines 2 x 7 MW Kaplan-type
Installed capacity 14 MW

Conemaugh Dam (also known as Conemaugh River Dam or Conemaugh River Lake Dam) is a concrete gravity dam across the Conemaugh River, near the town of Saltsburg, in Pennsylvania. The dam was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1936 and completed in 1952 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood protection on the Conemaugh, Kiskiminetas, and Allegheny Rivers. The dam is one of 16 flood control structures in the Corps' Pittsburgh District.[2]

With a capacity of 355,000 acre feet (438,000 dam3), the lake is usually kept at a much lower level of 5,140 acre feet (6,340 dam3), to accommodate flash floods.[1] Water is released as quickly as possible while not exacerbating flooding conditions downstream. The dam has prevented a total $2.2 billion of flooding-related damages between 1952 and 2013, including $375 million during Hurricane Ivan alone.[2] The dam also supplies water to a 14 MW hydroelectric power station which was commissioned in 1989.[3]

Conemaugh Lake National Recreation Area is located adjacent to the dam and preserves several historic sites, including segments of the Main Line Canal that once connected Pittsburgh to Philadelphia.[4][5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 http://ce-npdp-serv2.stanford.edu/DamDirectory/DamDetail.jsp?npdp_id=PA00101
  2. 1 2 http://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Recreation/Lakes/ConemaughRiverLake.aspx
  3. ↑ "Hydroelectric Plants in Pennsylvania". IndustCards. Retrieved 3 March 2014.
  4. ↑ http://corpslakes.usace.army.mil/visitors/projects.cfm?Id=H403750
  5. ↑ http://www.recreation.gov/recAreaDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&recAreaId=393
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