Carters Dam is an earthen

embankment dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and ...

located south of Chatsworth in Murray County and west of

Ellijay Ellijay is a city in Gilmer County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,619 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Gilmer County. Agriculture is important in Gilmer County, known as the "Apple Capital of Georgia." The city h ...

in northwestern

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, United States, that creates Carters Lake.

Description

The dam is tall and is situated above the mouth of the

Coosawattee River The Coosawattee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 27, 2011 river located in northwestern Georgia, United States. Description The river is noted as begi ...

. The drainage area is . The dam took 15 years to build and was completed in . The area of the primary flood control pool is . The top elevation of the dam is . The top width of the dam is . The dam is constructed of rock and earth and is the tallest earthen dam east of the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

. The dam has a diversion tunnel that is . It is a horseshoe shape with a bottom width of . The lake is the deepest manmade reservoir east of the

and deepest lake in Georgia. The created lake is more than deep and has of shoreline without any private docks or other development.

Hydroelectric plant

Below the dam is a retention and re-regulation lake (Reregulation Reservoir). The hydroelectric plant is of the

pumped storage Pumping may refer to: * The operation of a pump, for moving a liquid from one location to another **The use of a breast pump for extraction of milk * Pumping (audio), a creative misuse of dynamic range compression * Pumping (computer systems), the ...

type. That is, during off-peak hours the water from the retention lake is pumped back up to Carters Lake for use in generating power during the next time of

peak demand Peak demand on an electrical grid is simply the highest electrical power demand that has occurred over a specified time period (Gönen 2008). Peak demand is typically characterized as annual, daily or seasonal and has the unit of power. Peak dem ...

. The dam's power station contains 2 ×

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The proces ...

s and 2 × 160 MW Modified Francis pump turbines for used in pumped-storage.Hydroelectric Plants in Florida & Georgia
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References

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Pertinent data on Carters Dam and Lake

External links

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Carters Lake

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers: Carters Lake
{{coord, 34.6154, -84.6739, region:US-GA, display=title Dams in Georgia (U.S. state) Buildings and structures in Murray County, Georgia United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1977 ACT River Basin 1977 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in the United States

Description

Hydroelectric plant

See also

References

External links