Hauser Dam (also known as Hauser Lake Dam) is a

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 ...

straight

gravity In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the strong ...

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, a ...

on the Missouri River about northeast of

Helena, Montana Helena (; ) is the capital city of Montana, United States, and the county seat of Lewis and Clark County. Helena was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on October 30, 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena would b ...

, in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. The original dam, built between 1905 and 1907, failed in 1908 and caused severe flooding and damage downstream. A second dam was built on the site in 1908 and opened in 1911 and comprises the present structure. The current Hauser Dam is long and high.''Upper Missouri River Reservoir Fisheries Management Plan, 2010–2019'', Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, May 13, 2010, p. 11. The reservoir formed by the dam, Hauser Lake (also known as Hauser Reservoir), is long, has a surface area of , and has a storage capacity of of water when full.''Upper Missouri River Reservoir Fisheries Management Plan, 2010–2019'', Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, May 13, 2010, pp. 7, 9. The dam is a "run-of-the-river" dam because it can generate electricity without needing to store additional water supplies behind the dam. The powerhouse contains six generators, bringing Hauser dam's generating capacity to 17 MW.

History

Construction of first dam

The first Hauser Dam was built by the Missouri River Power Company and its successor, the United Missouri River Power Company. Samuel Thomas Hauser, a former Territorial Governor of

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Colum ...

from 1885 to 1887, enjoyed a lengthy career in

bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Because ...

ing,

mining Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the Earth, usually from an ore body, lode, vein, seam, reef, or placer deposit. The exploitation of these deposits for raw material is based on the economic via ...

railroads Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in Track (rail transport), tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the ...

ranch A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

ing, and

smelting Smelting is a process of applying heat to ore, to extract a base metal. It is a form of extractive metallurgy. It is used to extract many metals from their ores, including silver, iron, copper, and other base metals. Smelting uses heat and a c ...

, but encountered a series of financial setbacks after the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the presi ...

which nearly ruined him financially.Shearer, ''Louisiana to Ohio,'' 2004, p. 708. In his early 60s, Hauser began to rebuild his finances by branching out into the relatively new industry of hydroelectric power generation. In 1894, he formed the Missouri River Power Company, and won the approval of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

to build a dam (Hauser Dam) below Stubbs' Ferry. In 1905, Hauser and other directors of the Missouri River Power Company formed the Helena Power Transmission Company (also known as the "Helena Power and Transmission Company"). The two companies merged on February 16, 1906, to form the United Missouri River Power Company. The dam was named for Samuel T. Hauser.Aarstad, et al., ''Montana Place Names From Alzada to Zortman,'' 2009, p. 119. Hauser Dam was a steel dam built on

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

footings on top of gravel, with the ends of the dam anchored in

bedrock In geology, bedrock is solid rock that lies under loose material (regolith) within the crust of Earth or another terrestrial planet. Definition Bedrock is the solid rock that underlies looser surface material. An exposed portion of bedro ...

on either side of the river. The Wisconsin Bridge and Iron Company constructed the dam for the power company. J.F. Jackson, a Wisconsin Bridge and Iron engineer, designed the structure. Martin Gerry supervised the construction for the power company.Axline, "Hauser Dam," METNet.MT.gov, no date. Gerry and Wisconsin Bridge engineer James McKittrick argued several times over the dam's design, and Gerry ordered a number of changes to the dam to strengthen it. Jackson's design had to overcome a significant engineering problem: bedrock lay out of reach under the riverbed, covered by a thick layer of gravel. To overcome the fact that of the center section of the dam was built on a gravel riverbed and the rest on

, sheet pilings (supplied by the L. P. Friestedt Company of Chicago, which had a patented steel sheet piling system) were driven into the riverbed and the steel of the dam attached to the pilings. The pilings were set at an angle of 1.5:1 to discourage sliding, and a triangular masonry footing capped with concrete on the upstream side set against the pilings in the riverbed to support the dam. The upstream face of the dam was covered in concrete, and a deep layer of

volcanic ash Volcanic ash consists of fragments of rock, mineral crystals, and volcanic glass, created during volcanic eruptions and measuring less than 2 mm (0.079 inches) in diameter. The term volcanic ash is also often loosely used to refer ...

laid down on the upstream riverbed extending from the dam to discourage seeping. Volcanic ash is very fine, and Jackson trusted that the weight of the water above the ash blanket would compact it to the point of being impenetrable, thus preventing water from eroding the gravel around the pilings. The dam was long and high.Wegmann, ''The Design and Construction of Dams,'' 1918, p. 298.Smith, "The Hauser Lake and Wolf Creek Projects," ''Stone & Webster Public Service Journal,'' October 1908, p. 236. The spillway was wide and deep. The 10 horizontal turbines in the powerhouse delivered 14,000

kilowatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...

of power. The total cost of the dam at that time was $1.5 million. The United Missouri Power declared Hauser Dam operational on February 12, 1907.Hall, ''Montana,'' 1912, p. 135.

Collapse of first dam

On April 14, 1908, at about 2:30 p.m., Hauser Dam failed after water pressure undermined the masonry footings (the steel dam itself being structurally sound).Jackson, ''Dams,'' 1997, pp. 65–66. The first sign of trouble was when silt-heavy water began gushing from the base of the dam near the powerhouse. A power company employee, spotting the problem, ran into the powerhouse and told everyone to flee for their lives. About 15 minutes later, the masonry footings gave way, causing the upstream section of the dam to settle and a wide breach to open in the dam."Two Towns Swept By Montana Flood," ''The New York Times,'' April 16, 1908. The water pouring through the breach further undermined the dam's footing, and six minutes later a wide section of the dam tore loose. The powerhouse was only slightly damaged. A surge of water high swept downstream. The remaining sections of the dam, anchored to bedrock, helped hold back some of the water for a time, reducing the destructiveness of the flood.Smith, "The Hauser Lake and Wolf Creek Projects," ''Stone & Webster Public Service Journal,'' October 1908, p. 237. In the state capital of Helena at the time, Gerry received a telephone call from the dam operators alerting him to the dam's destruction. He immediately sent

telegrams Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

to all towns and cities downstream, warning them of the coming flood. A Great Northern Railway locomotive was dispatched to the city of Great Falls, downstream, warning stations along the way about the dam break. Hauser Dam - 1908 - West end

The warnings and the geology of the Missouri River below Hauser Dam helped save numerous lives. The construction camp at Holter Dam (then being built) was swept away. Future motion picture actor

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

and his family, living at the Seven Bar Nine Ranch, were notified in time and evacuated before the floodwaters tore across a portion of their property. The flood reached the small town of Craig, Montana, around 7:00 p.m., but the narrow canyons of the Missouri River above the town helped hold back part of the floodwaters and dissipated much of their energy. The residents of the town received plenty of warning, and were evacuated. At first, the press reported that the town had been swept away, but this proved inaccurate as only a few shacks and the railroad station were uprooted. The famous iron Craig Bridge (normally above water) had more than of water over its deck and was feared doomed, but it held. The Great Northern Railway tracks from Craig to

Ulm, Montana Ulm is a census-designated place (CDP) in Cascade County, Montana, United States. It was originally a large ranch owned by Indiana-born cattleman William Ulm. The population was 738 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Great Falls, Montana Met ...

, were under water. Workers at the Boston and Montana Smelter in Great Falls improvised a wing dam to deflect the floodwaters away from the smelter site and dynamited a portion of

Black Eagle Dam Black Eagle Dam is a hydroelectric gravity weir dam located on the Missouri River in the city of Great Falls, Montana. The first dam on the site, built and opened in 1890, was a timber-and-rock crib dam.Peterson, p. 59. This structure was the fi ...

to allow the floodwaters to go downstream. Their efforts were not needed, as the Missouri River only rose by the time it reached that city. Nonetheless, damages were estimated at more than $1 million. At the end of the 20th century, pieces of the steel dam could still be found on the banks of the Missouri River. The collapse of the dam affected the way engineers design dams. The first Hauser Dam was one of only three steel dams in the world (the others being Ashfork-Bainbridge Steel Dam and Redridge Steel Dam). At the turn of the twentieth century, many engineers argued for the use of steel as a primary dam-building material. Steel had many advantages: it was not only cheaper, but also lighter, more easily transported, and more watertight than traditional materials like concrete, timber, stone, or earth. Furthermore, the use of steel simplified design calculations because standards and tolerances could be monitored at the steel mill. However, because steel dams appeared fragile to the eye, many opposed them in spite of the advantages. After Hauser Dam's collapse, opponents of steel won out. Even though the washout was the fault of too-short pilings—not the fault of steel—engineers rejected steel as a dam-building material, and no other steel dam has ever been built.

Second dam

United Missouri River Power began reconstruction of Hauser Dam in July 1908, completing it in the spring of 1911. The Foundation Company of

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * ...

rebuilt the dam."J.B. Snow, 79, Dead," ''The New York Times,'' June 18, 1947. Jesse Baker Snow, a noted engineer from New York, was the engineer and assistant superintendent for the dam's reconstruction. The current Hauser Dam has four sections: An overflow spillway, abutments on either side of the overflow spillway, a non-spillover section east of the left abutment (below which is the powerhouse), and a deep forebay which impounds water behind the powerhouse. The spillway is long. Five hydraulic sliding gates and 17 manually operated flashboards allow water to overflow the dam. Hauser Dam can only generate 17

megawatts The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Watt ...

of power, and so requires little water to function. In 2015 NorthWestern began removing and refurbishing the original 1911 turbines. They expect to refurbish one of the six pairs of turbines each year.

Hauser Lake

The reservoir formed by Hauser Dam is in length and only to in width.''Upper Missouri River Reservoir Fisheries Management Plan, 2010–2019,'' Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, May 13, 2010, p. 9. The lake has a surface area of , and has a storage capacity of of water when full. Hauser Lake has a

mean There are several kinds of mean in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each mean serves to summarize a given group of data, often to better understand the overall value (magnitude and sign) of a given data set. For a data set, the ''arithm ...

depth of and a maximum depth of .''Upper Missouri River Reservoir Fisheries Management Plan, 2010–2019,'' Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks, May 13, 2010, p. 7. The creation of Hauser Lake led to the creation of nearby Lake Helena. The water impounded by Hauser Dam inundated the lower portion of Prickly Pear Creek, causing the formation of Lake Helena. A narrow canyon in length filled with deep water (known as the Causeway Arm) connects Hauser Lake with Lake Helena. Lake Helena is extremely shallow and develops dense amounts of aquatic vegetation, making it an important nesting, stopover, and feeding area for birds. The distance from Hauser Dam to Holter Reservoir, the next lake downstream, is . There are several recreation areas along the lake, such as White Sandy Recreation area and Black Sandy State Park.

Fishing

The lake commonly yields rainbow and brown trout, walleye and perch. It is an extremely popular weekend fishing spot. The lake is regularly stocked with fish.

Dam ownership and access

Cost overruns on downstream

Holter Dam Holter Dam is a hydroelectric straight gravity dam on the Missouri River about northeast of Helena, Montana, in the United States.''Upper Missouri River Reservoir Fisheries Management Plan, 2010-2019,'' Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and P ...

, waning investor enthusiasm, and the liability associated with the collapse of the first Hauser Dam nearly drove Samuel Hauser (United Missouri's largest shareholder) into bankruptcy.Clary, ''Lewis & Clark on the Upper Missouri,'' 1999, p. 137. Hauser sold his interest in United Missouri River Power to John D. Ryan, who on October 25, 1912, merged United Missouri River Power with the Butte Electric and Power Company, Billings and Eastern Montana Power Company, and Madison River Power Company to form the Montana Power Company.Aarstad, et al., ''Montana Place Names From Alzada to Zortman,'' 2009, p. 125.Malone, ''The Battle for Butte: Mining and Politics on the Northern Frontier, 1864–1906,'' 2006, p. 204. Montana Power took over not only United Missouri's Canyon Ferry Dam and Hauser Dam but the partially built Holter Dam as well. On November 2, 1999, Montana Power announced it was selling all of its dams and other electric power generating plants to PPL Corporation for $1.6 billion. The sale was expected to generate $30 million in taxes for the state of Montana (although MPC said the total would be lower). In November 2001, citizens of Montana upset with energy price increases announced by PPL sought passage of a

ballot initiative In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a p ...

that would require the state of Montana to buy all of PPL's hydroelectric dams, including Hauser Dam. Montana voters rejected the initiative in November 2002. In September 2013,

NorthWestern Energy NorthWestern Corporation owns NorthWestern Energy, a utility company that serves South Dakota, Nebraska, and Montana that is based in Sioux Falls. , the company serves approximately 718,000 customers. The company's corporate headquarters are loca ...

, an energy company based in

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls () is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 130th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Count ...

and operating in South Dakota,

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the southwe ...

, and Montana, announced that it would purchase from PPL Montana 11 hydroelectric facilities in Montana, including Hauser Dam. The Montana Public Service Commission approved the deal in September 2014 and the two companies completed the $890 million purchase in November 2014.

Footnotes

Bibliography

*Aarstad, Rich; Arguimbau, Ellen; Baumler, Ellen; Porsild, Charlene L.; and Shovers, Brian. ''Montana Place Names From Alzada to Zortman.'' Helena, Mont.: Montana Historical Society Press Press, 2009. *Anez, Bob. "PP&L Global Buying Montana Power Plants for $1.6 Billion." ''Associated Press.'' November 2, 1998. *Axline, Jon. ''Conveniences Sorely Needed: Montana's Historic Highway Bridges, 1860–1956.'' Helena, Mont.: Montana Historical Society Press, 2005.
Axline, Jon. "Hauser Dam." METNet.MT.gov. No date.
Accessed 2010-06-15. *Berg, Christian. "Montanans Reject Buying PPL Dams." ''Allentown Morning Call.'' November 7, 2002. *Clary, Jean. ''Lewis & Clark on the Upper Missouri.'' Stevensville, Mont.: Stoneydale Press Publishing Co., 1999. *"Dam Bursts in Montana." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

.'' April 15, 1908. *Dennison, Mike. "A New Plan for Holter Dam Repairs." ''Great Falls Tribune.'' May 25, 2000. *"Fishing Access to All PPL Dams in Montana Now Prohibited." ''Associated Press.'' May 9, 2003. *Gallagher, Susan. "Drive to Buy Montana Hydroelectric Dams Announced." ''Associated Press.'' November 20, 2001. *Goodspeed, Weston Arthur. ''The Province and the States, A History of the Province of Louisiana Under France and Spain, and of the Territories and States of the United States Formed Therefrom.'' Madison, Wisc.: Weston Historical Association, 1904. *Hall, J. H. ''Montana.'' Helena, Mont.: Independent Publishing Co., 1912. *Harts, William W. "Discussion: Forests and Reservoirs in Their Relation to Stream Flow With Particular Reference to Navigable Rivers." ''Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers.'' March 1909. * *"J. B. Snow, 79, Dead." ''The New York Times.'' June 18, 1947. *Jackson, Donald C. ''Dams.'' Brookfield, Vt.: Ashgate, 1997. *Johnson, Charles S. "MPC to Sell Power Plants." ''

The Missoulian The ''Missoulian'' is a daily newspaper printed in Missoula, Montana, United States. The newspaper has been owned by Lee Enterprises since 1959. The ''Missoulian'' is the largest published newspaper in Western Montana, and is distributed througho ...

.'' December 10, 1997. *King, Ernest W. "Annual Address." ''Journal of the Association of Engineering Societies.'' March 1906. *Malone, Michael P. ''The Battle for Butte: Mining and Politics on the Northern Frontier, 1864–1906.'' Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2006. *"MPC Casts Doubt on $30 Million Tax Payment on Dam Sales." ''Associated Press.'' March 3, 1999. *Murphy, Jerre C. ''The Comical History of Montana: A Serious Story for Free People.'' San Diego: E.L. Scofield, 1912. *Parrett, Aaron
"'The Huge Mass Writhed and Screamed like a Live Thing': Revisiting the Failure of Hauser Dam."
''Montana The Magazine of Western History.'' 59, 4 (Winter 2009): 24–45. *Robbins, Chuck. ''Flyfisher's Guide to Montana.'' Belgrade, Mont.: Wilderness Adventures Press, 2005. *Shearer, Benjamin F. ''Louisiana to Ohio.'' Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2004.
Smith, Barrett. "The Hauser Lake and Wolf Creek Projects." ''Stone & Webster Public Service Journal.'' October 1908.
*Swindell, Larry. ''The Last Hero: A Biography of Gary Cooper.'' Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1980. *Terzaghi, Karl; Peck, Ralph B.; Mesri, Gholamreza. ''Soil Mechanics in Engineering Practice.'' New York: Wiley, 1996. *"Two Towns Swept By Montana Flood." ''The New York Times.'' April 16, 1908. * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hauser Dam Dams completed in 1907 Dams completed in 1911 Energy infrastructure completed in 1911 Historic American Engineering Record in Montana Hydroelectric power plants in Montana Dams in Montana Dams on the Missouri River Buildings and structures in Lewis and Clark County, Montana Dam failures in the United States Disasters in Montana Run-of-the-river power stations NorthWestern Corporation dams Gravity dams Steel dams 1911 establishments in Montana