Conemaugh Dam (also known as Conemaugh River Dam or Conemaugh River Lake Dam) is a concrete

gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation to oppose the horizontal pressure of water pushing against it. ...

across the

Conemaugh River The Conemaugh River is a long tributary of the Kiskiminetas River in Westmoreland, Indiana, and Cambria counties in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The name means 'Otter Creek', originating from the Unami-Lenape language word ''kwənəmuxkw' ...

, near the town of

Saltsburg Saltsburg is a borough in Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its location is in western Pennsylvania, in the southwestern corner of Indiana County near its border with Westmoreland County. The town was based on the construction of salt ...

, in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. The dam was authorized by the

Flood Control Act of 1936 The Flood Control Act of 1936, , (FCA 1936) was an Act of the United States Congress signed into law by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt on 22 June 1936.U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

for flood protection on the Conemaugh, Kiskiminetas, and Allegheny Rivers. The dam is one of 16 flood control structures in the Corps' Pittsburgh District. With a capacity of , the lake is usually kept at a much lower level of , to accommodate flash floods. 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 Hurricane Ivan was a large, long-lived, Cape Verde hurricane that caused widespread damage in the Caribbean and United States. The cyclone was the ninth named storm, the sixth hurricane and the fourth major hurricane of the active 2004 Atlan ...

alone. The dam also supplies water to a 14 MW

hydroelectric Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined and ...

power station which was commissioned in 1989. 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 Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

References

{{reflist Dams in Pennsylvania Dams completed in 1952 Gravity dams Buildings and structures in Indiana County, Pennsylvania Energy infrastructure completed in 1989 Hydroelectric power plants in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania

See also

References