Pinopolis Dam is a dam in

Berkeley County, South Carolina Berkeley County is a county in the U.S. state of South Carolina. As of the 2020 census, its population was 229,861. Its county seat is Moncks Corner. After two previous incarnations of Berkeley County, the current county was created in 1882. B ...

. The earthen and concrete dam was completed in 1941 by

Santee Cooper __NOTOC__ Santee Cooper, also known officially from the 1930s as the South Carolina Public Service Authority, is South Carolina's state-owned electric and water utility that came into being during the New Deal as both a rural electrification and ...

, the state-owned electric and water utility also known as South Carolina Public Service Authority. The dam is 138 feet high and 11,500 feet long at its crest. Broadly speaking, the dam impounds the Cooper River and creates

Lake Moultrie Lake Moultrie is the third largest lake in South Carolina. Created in the 1940s by a state utility project to dam the Cooper River, it covers more than . It provides a wide variety of recreational opportunities, including fishing. Location Lak ...

. Specifically Lake Moultrie is fed directly from Lake Marion by a diversion canal built concurrently with the dam. This artificial rerouting of the Cooper River basin has effectively unified the Santee and Cooper River systems into a single hydrological drainage entity. The overall New Deal-era Santee Cooper Power and Navigation Project improved navigation, provided

hydroelectric power 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 ...

, and improved the general health, recreation, and economy of the area. The project was the largest land-clearing project in U.S. history up to that point, with over 12,500 workers clearing over of swamp and forestland. of dams and dikes were constructed, including a , tall earthen dike. The Pinopolis Dam included the hydroelectric station and

navigation lock A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water lev ...

, the highest single-lift lock in the world. A

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 ...

was built to control floodwaters, with 62 gates allowing overflow of excess water. In completing the largest earth-moving project in the nation's history, of earth were moved and 3.1 million cubic yards of concrete were poured. The $48.2 million project (55 percent federal loan, 45 percent federal grant) first generated electricity on Feb. 17, 1942. As transmission lines were built, power flowed to customers in Berkeley, Georgetown and Horry counties, and ultimately to electric cooperatives serving customers in 46 counties. The Pinopolis generating station was renamed Jefferies Hydroelectric Station in 1996 after

Richard Manning Jefferies Richard Manning Jefferies (February 27, 1889 – April 20, 1964), a longtime state legislator and the 101st Governor of South Carolina from 1942 to 1943, was born in Union County, South Carolina, on February 27, 1889. He graduated from the Uni ...

, former Governor of South Carolina and executive of Santee Cooper. It produced 243 MWh electricity in 2019. The project also flooded the

Santee Canal The Santee Canal was one of the earliest canals built in the United States. It was built to provide a direct water route between Charleston and Columbia, the new South Carolina state capital. It was named to the National Register of Historic Plac ...

, the cemeteries and plantations of St John's Parish Berkeley, and other historic resources.

References

External links

online photographic scrapbook documenting the early construction of the Pinopolis and Santee dams and reservoirs from April to December 1939
{{coord, 33.26464, -80.10061, format=dms, display=title, type:landmark Dams in South Carolina United States state-owned dams Buildings and structures in Berkeley County, South Carolina Dams completed in 1942 Hydroelectric power plants in South Carolina Santee River 1942 establishments in South Carolina