Eufaula Dam Explained

Eufaula Dam
Location Map:Oklahoma
Coordinates:35.3069°N -95.3581°W
Location:Haskell / McIntosh counties, east of Eufaula, Oklahoma
Country:United States
Status:O
Construction Began:1956
Opening:1964
Owner:U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Dam Crosses:Canadian River
Dam Length:32000NaN0
Dam Height:1140NaN0
Dam Type:Earthen embankment, concrete gravity composite
Spillway Count:11
Spillway Type:Tainter gate-controlled ogee weir
Spillway Capacity:4650000NaN0
Res Name:Eufaula Lake
Res Capacity Total:20990000NaN0
Res Surface:1020000NaN0
Plant Commission:1964
Plant Turbines:3 x 30 MW
Plant Capacity:90 MW

Eufaula Dam is a dam across the Canadian River in Oklahoma. Completed in 1964, it impounds Eufaula Lake, one of the world's largest man-made lakes, covering 102,500 acres (41,500 hectares). The dam serves to provide flood control, water supply, navigation and hydroelectric power generation. It supports a 90 MW power station;[1] three generators produce 30 MW each.[2]

History

State Highway 71 runs across the top of the dam.The dam was approved by Rivers and Harbors Act of 1946 and construction began in December 1956.[3] The cost of the project, completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, was $121,735,000.[3] The flood-control operations of the dam were in place by February 1964, and the dam dedicated by President Lyndon B. Johnson on September 25, 1964.[3]

Heavy rains in the spring of 2015, caused Eufaula Lake to rise so rapidly that the Corps of Engineers had to open the flood gates and release water at rates as high as 48000ft3 per second. This was the highest rate since 1990.[4]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Eufaula Dam. Energy Justice Network. 29 March 2011.
  2. Corey Jones, State to mark 50 years since Lake Eufaula's dedication by LBJ, Tulsa World (September 24, 2014).
  3. Web site: History of Eufaula Lake. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Tulsa District. November 26, 2016.
  4. Tess Maune, Water Pouring Out Of Eufaula Dam Most In 25 Years, KOTV-DT (May 13, 2015).