Tom Miller Dam | |
Name Official: | Tom Miller Dam |
Dam Crosses: | Colorado River |
Res Name: | Lake Austin |
Location: | Austin, Texas, United States |
Operator: | Lower Colorado River Authority |
Dam Length: | 1590feet |
Dam Height: | 100.5feet |
Dam Width Base: | 155feet |
Spillway Type: | 6 controlled bulkhead-gate |
Spillway Capacity: | NaN107,700 (4 floodgates at 15,300; 5 floodgates at 8,600; 2 turbines at 1,750) |
Construction Began: | 1938 |
Opening: | 1940 |
Res Surface: | 1599acres |
Plant Turbines: | 2 [1] |
Plant Capacity: | 17.3 MW |
Coordinates: | 30.2939°N -97.7856°W |
Tom Miller Dam is a dam located on the Colorado River within the city limits of Austin, Texas, United States. The City of Austin, aided by funds from the Public Works Administration, constructed the dam for the purpose of flood control and for generating hydroelectric power. Named after Robert Thomas Miller, a former Mayor of Austin, the dam forms Lake Austin, one of the Texas Highland Lakes.
The dam began operating in 1940 and is located at the site of the city's two previous dams, each of which were destroyed during major floods and shared the same name, Austin Dam.[2] It is currently leased to the Lower Colorado River Authority, who maintains and operates the dam.