The Saluda DamFederal Writers Project. ''South Carolina: A Guide To The Palmetto State.'' Volume 5 of American Guide. Somerset Publishers, Inc., 1941. p. 377. or Saluda River Dam, officially the Dreher Shoals Dam, commonly referred to as the Lake Murray Dam, is an earthen embankment dam located approximately 10 miles (15 km) west of

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-largest ...

on the

Saluda River The Saluda River is a principal tributary of the Congaree River, about 200 mi (320 km) long, in northern and western South Carolina in the United States. Via the Congaree River, it is part of the watershed of the Santee River, which fl ...

. Construction on the dam began in 1927 and was completed in 1930. The purpose of the dam is

flood control Flood control methods are used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters."Flood Control", MSN Encarta, 2008 (see below: Further reading). Flood relief methods are used to reduce the effects of flood waters or high water level ...

hydroelectricity 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 an ...

, recreation and water supply. At the time of its completion, the Saluda Dam was the world's largest earthen dam, creating the world's largest man-made lake, Lake Murray. In 2005, construction on a . tall roller-compacted concrete (RCC)

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

was completed at the toe of the original dam in order to mitigate an earthquake-caused dam failure.

South Carolina Highway 6 South Carolina Highway 6 (SC 6) is a primary state highway in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It extends from US 76 in Ballentine to US 52/ SC 6 Truck in Moncks Corner. It uniquely links all three of the major hydro ...

crosses over the dam and is used as a fast connection between the towns of Lexington and Irmo. The yearly football game between rival Lexington High School and

Irmo High School Irmo High School is a public high school in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Irmo High School falls under the administrative jurisdiction of District 5 of Lexington and Richland Counties. It is an International Baccalaureate school. At ...

is often called "The Battle of the Dam".

Characteristics

The original Saluda Dam is a long, -high earthen-embankment dam. The dam contains a long emergency

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

controlled by six steel

tainter gate The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams and canal locks to control water flow. It is named for Wisconsin structural engineer Jeremiah Burnham Tainter. A side view of a Tainter gate resembles a slice of pie with the ...

s. The back-up dam located at the original dam's toe and is a long, high roller-compacted concrete dam. Rock-fill embankment sections also exist on the south and north ends of the back up dam, making a total length of . The

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

consists of concrete five vertical Francis turbines; three at 32.5 MW, one at 42.3 MW and another at 67.5 MW. The

receives water by means of five . high intake towers and then into

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is inherited from the earlier technology of mill ponds and watermills. H ...

s. Water released from the power station moves down a long tailrace tunnel before being discharged back in the Saluda River. On the dam, South Carolina Highway 6 splits into two lanes, the northward one going in between the main and backup dams, and the southward road staying on the main dam. There is also a walkway across the dam.

History

Saluda Dam Remediation Project

Construction of a backup dam immediately next to the Saluda Dam was completed in 2005 by the

SCANA SCANA Corporation was a regulated electric and natural gas public utility. The company was based in Cayce, South Carolina, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. Following the Nukegate scandal, the company's stock fell and the company was in disre ...

corporation. The construction was first proposed in 1989 but did not begin until 2002. The roller-compacted concrete backup dam was required by the federal government as a mechanism for preventing flooding if an earthquake of similar magnitude to the

1886 Charleston earthquake The 1886 Charleston earthquake occurred about 9:50 p.m. local time August 31. It caused 60 deaths and $5–6 million ($ million in ) in damage to 2,000 buildings in the Southeastern United States. It is one of the most powerful and da ...

was to occur again in South Carolina. It was projected that large parts of the Columbia, SC metropolitan region (encompassing around 135,000 people) would have been in the flood region if the original dam was damaged. During construction, workers laid of roller-compacted concrete in one day, setting a North American record. The total fill for the back up dam is . Because of this and the worker's "...proactive approach to protecting the surrounding communities, and the innovative methods they implemented to achieve that goal...", it received the 2006

American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award. SOUTH CAROLINA'S SALUDA DAM NAMED 2006 OUTSTANDING CIVIL ENGINEERING ACHIEVEMENT April 26, 2006

External links

Scana Insight Article on DamDESCRIPTION OF THE SALUDA HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT"Mile Long Earthen Dam Is Impervious To Water", May 1931, Popular Mechanics

References

{{reflist Dams in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Lexington County, South Carolina Hydroelectric power plants in South Carolina Roller-compacted concrete dams 1930 establishments in South Carolina Earth-filled dams

Characteristics

History

Saluda Dam Remediation Project

See also

External links

References