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Palisades Dam () is an
left, Palisades Reservoir in winter
The Palisades Project was authorized to improve the ability of the Snake River irrigation scheme to deal with drought, and addressed shortcomings in water storage that became evident during the 1930s. Initial evaluation started in 1934. The proposed damsite was chosen at Calamity Point, a narrow place in the Snake River canyon with walls. Initially known as the "Grand Valley Site" the name was changed to avoid confusion with the Grand Valley Project in Colorado. Delayed by World War II, construction finally started in 1951 and was completed in 1957, with the generating plant on line the following year. Much of the power is used to pump water in the Minidoka Project. Excess power is sold on the open market. The powerplant was upgraded from a nameplate capacity of 118.75MW to 176.6MW in 1994.
Congress authorized $94,596,000 for multiple-purpose reclamation developments in eastern Idaho when the House and Senate adopted a compromise conference report on the Palisades Dam and Reservoir Project bill, S 2195. President Truman signed the measure September 30, 1950, and it became Public Law 864. The bill re-authorized at an expenditure not to exceed $76,601,000 the Palisades Dam and Reservoir essentially as it first was approved by Congress in 1941, except that the power installation was increased to 112,500 kilowatts. Power output, it was specified, will be incidental to operation of the reservoir principally for irrigation and flood control (cq almanac, 1950).
Palisades Project at USBR
{{Idaho Buildings and structures in Bonneville County, Idaho Dams in Idaho Hydroelectric power plants in Idaho Dams on the Snake River Earth-filled dams United States Bureau of Reclamation dams Dams completed in 1957 Energy infrastructure completed in 1958 National Register of Historic Places in Bonneville County, Idaho Dams on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho 1957 establishments in Idaho
earth-fill 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 ...
in the western United States, on the upper Snake River
The Snake River is a major river of the greater Pacific Northwest region in the United States. At long, it is the largest tributary of the Columbia River, in turn, the largest North American river that empties into the Pacific Ocean. The Snake ...
in eastern Idaho
Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...
. Located in Bonneville County
Bonneville County is a county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 123,964, making it the fourth-most populous county in Idaho and the most populous in eastern Idaho. Its county seat and larg ...
near the Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
border, the dam was completed in 1957.
Providing irrigation water, 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 ...
, and recreation, it features a four-turbine hydroelectric power plant and can potentially generate 176.5 MW of electricity. The resulting water impoundment, Palisades Reservoir, has a storage capacity of 1.2 million acre-feet. The dam and power station were listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 2018.
History
The dam was constructed as the principal feature of theU.S. Bureau of Reclamation
The Bureau of Reclamation, and formerly the United States Reclamation Service, is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior, which oversees water resource management, specifically as it applies to the oversight and opera ...
's Palisades Project. The Palisades Project supplements the storage and power generation facilities of the earlier Minidoka and Michaud Flats projects, which serve irrigation interest in Idaho on the Snake River Plain
image:Snake River view near Twin Falls, Idaho.jpg, The Snake River cutting through the plain leaves many canyons and Canyon#List of gorges, gorges, such as this one near Twin Falls, Idaho
The Snake River Plain is a geology, geologic feature ...
, saving about through the winter for use in the growing season. With 13,571,000 cubic yards of material, the dam was the largest in the USBR system at the time of its construction.
left, Palisades Reservoir in winter
The Palisades Project was authorized to improve the ability of the Snake River irrigation scheme to deal with drought, and addressed shortcomings in water storage that became evident during the 1930s. Initial evaluation started in 1934. The proposed damsite was chosen at Calamity Point, a narrow place in the Snake River canyon with walls. Initially known as the "Grand Valley Site" the name was changed to avoid confusion with the Grand Valley Project in Colorado. Delayed by World War II, construction finally started in 1951 and was completed in 1957, with the generating plant on line the following year. Much of the power is used to pump water in the Minidoka Project. Excess power is sold on the open market. The powerplant was upgraded from a nameplate capacity of 118.75MW to 176.6MW in 1994.
Congress authorized $94,596,000 for multiple-purpose reclamation developments in eastern Idaho when the House and Senate adopted a compromise conference report on the Palisades Dam and Reservoir Project bill, S 2195. President Truman signed the measure September 30, 1950, and it became Public Law 864. The bill re-authorized at an expenditure not to exceed $76,601,000 the Palisades Dam and Reservoir essentially as it first was approved by Congress in 1941, except that the power installation was increased to 112,500 kilowatts. Power output, it was specified, will be incidental to operation of the reservoir principally for irrigation and flood control (cq almanac, 1950).
See also
* List of dams in the Columbia River watershedReferences
External links
{{Idaho Buildings and structures in Bonneville County, Idaho Dams in Idaho Hydroelectric power plants in Idaho Dams on the Snake River Earth-filled dams United States Bureau of Reclamation dams Dams completed in 1957 Energy infrastructure completed in 1958 National Register of Historic Places in Bonneville County, Idaho Dams on the National Register of Historic Places in Idaho 1957 establishments in Idaho