| Conemaugh Dam | |
| Location Map: | Pennsylvania |
| Coordinates: | 40.4681°N -79.3662°W |
| Country: | United States |
| Location: | Indiana/Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania |
| Purpose: | Flood control, power |
| Status: | O |
| Opening: | 1952 |
| Owner: | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Dam Type: | Concrete gravity |
| Dam Crosses: | Conemaugh River |
| Dam Length: | 1266feet[1] |
| Dam Height: | 144feet |
| Res Name: | Conemaugh River Lake |
| Res Capacity Total: | 355000acre feet |
| Res Catchment: | 1351mi2 |
| Plant Name: | Conemaugh Hydroelectric Station |
| Plant Coordinates: | 40.4638°N -79.3659°W |
| Plant Commission: | 1989 |
| Plant Turbines: | 2 x 7 MW Kaplan-type |
| Plant 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 355000acre feet, the lake is usually kept at a much lower level of 5140acre feet, to accommodate flash floods.[1] Water is released as quickly as possible while not exacerbating flooding conditions downstream. The dam has prevented a total of $2.2 billion of flooding-related damages between 1952 and 2013, including $375 million during 2004's Hurricane Ivan alone.[2] The dam also supplies water to a 14 MW hydroelectric power station which was commissioned in 1989.[3]
Conemaugh Lake 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]