Conklingville Dam

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Conklingville Dam
Conklingville Dam.jpg
A photo of the dam from County Route 7
New York Adirondack.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Conklingville Dam in New York Adirondack Park
CountryUnited States
Location New York
Coordinates 43°19′05″N73°55′24″W / 43.3180°N 73.9234°W / 43.3180; -73.9234 Coordinates: 43°19′05″N73°55′24″W / 43.3180°N 73.9234°W / 43.3180; -73.9234
Purpose Flood control
StatusOperational
Construction began1927
Opening dateMarch 27, 1930
Construction cost$12 million
Owner(s)Hudson River-Black River Regulating District
Dam and spillways
Type of dam Earth fill dam
Impounds Sacandaga River
Height (foundation)95 feet (29 m)
Reservoir
Creates Great Sacandaga Lake
Total capacity29,920,000,000 cubic feet (847,000,000 m3)
Catchment area 1,044 square miles (2,700 km2)
Surface area41.7 square miles (108 km2)
Maximum length20 miles (32 km)
Maximum width5 miles (8.0 km)
Installed capacity22 kilowatt-hours (79 MJ)

The Conklingville Dam, in Hadley, Saratoga County, New York, is an earthen dam which holds back the Great Sacandaga Lake (in the town of Day, New York).

Hadley, New York Town in New York, United States

Hadley is a town in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,971 at the 2000 census. The town was named after Hadley, Massachusetts.

Saratoga County, New York County in the United States

Saratoga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2017 U.S. Census estimate, the county's population was 229,869, representing a 4.7% increase from the 2010 population of 219,607, representing one of the fastest growth rates in the northeastern United States and the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. The county seat is Ballston Spa. Saratoga County is included in the Capital District, encompassing the Albany-Schenectady-Troy, New York Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Embankment dam large artificial 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, sand, clay, or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface and a dense, impervious core. This makes such a dam impervious to surface or seepage erosion. Such a dam is composed of fragmented independent material particles. The friction and interaction of particles binds the particles together into a stable mass rather than by the use of a cementing substance.

Contents

The dam, completed in 1930, is owned by the Hudson River-Black River Regulating District. It stands 95 feet high, impounds a maximum of 792,000 acre-feet; the lake has a perimeter of 129 miles (208 km), and an area of 42 square miles (11,000 ha). [1] The hydroelectric plant is named for Elmer West, a builder of the Spier Falls Dam located downstream on the Hudson. [2] [3]

Spier Falls Dam

The Spier Falls Dam is a hydroelectric dam on the Hudson River between the towns of Moreau, New York and Lake Luzerne, New York.

History

At the end of the Wisconsin Glacial Episode a glacial moraine blocked the outflow of the Sacandaga River, forming "Glacial Lake Sacandaga". The rising water eventually found an outlet over a small divide at Conklingville. The outlet gradually eroded, draining the lake. The Conklingville dam was proposed to block this outlet, and nearly restore the configuration of the glacial lake. [4]

Moraine Glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated debris

A moraine is any glacially formed accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions on Earth, through geomorphological processes. Moraines are formed from debris previously carried along by a glacier and normally consisting of somewhat rounded particles ranging in size from large boulders to minute glacial flour. Lateral moraines are formed at the side of the ice flow and terminal moraines at the foot, marking the maximum advance of the glacier. Other types of moraine include ground moraines, till-covered areas with irregular topography, and medial moraines which are formed where two glaciers meet.

The Sacandaga River was subject to periodic severe floods. A dam had been considered since the 1860s, both for flood control and, later, for power generation. In 1913 the "most disastrous [flood] in history" caused major damage to towns on the Hudson River below the Sacandaga: Albany, Green Island, Rensselaer, Troy, and Watervliet. In 1922 New York established the "Hudson River Regulating District" (now the "Hudson River-Black River Regulating District") "To regulate the flow of the Hudson and Sacandaga Rivers as required by the public welfare including health and safety." The financing was done through a combination of contributions from industries that would use the generated power (95.5%), and from the communities flooded in 1913. The dam was designed by Edward Haynes Sargent. The first bids were received in 1927. The project was projected to be completed in 1929, but various setbacks, including a flood that year, delayed completion until March 27, 1930. [2] The cost of the dam was $12 million. [2]

Sacandaga River river in the United States of America

The Sacandaga River is a 64-mile-long (103 km) river in the northern part of New York in the United States. Its name comes from the Native American Sa-chen-da'-ga, meaning "overflowed lands".

Hudson River river in New York State, draining into the Atlantic at New York City

The Hudson River is a 315-mile (507 km) river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York in the United States. The river originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York, flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the Upper New York Bay between New York City and Jersey City. It eventually drains into the Atlantic Ocean at New York Harbor. The river serves as a political boundary between the states of New Jersey and New York at its southern end. Further north, it marks local boundaries between several New York counties. The lower half of the river is a tidal estuary, deeper than the body of water into which it flows, occupying the Hudson Fjord, an inlet which formed during the most recent period of North American glaciation, estimated at 26,000 to 13,300 years ago. Tidal waters influence the Hudson's flow from as far north as the city of Troy.

Albany, New York Capital of New York

Albany is the capital of the U.S. state of New York and the seat of Albany County. Albany is located on the west bank of the Hudson River approximately 10 miles (16 km) south of its confluence with the Mohawk River and approximately 135 miles (220 km) north of New York City.

Residents of the valley were bitterly opposed to the dam. In addition to lawsuits there is a story that a group of witches put a curse on the dam in an attempt to get it to fail. [5] More prosaically, the Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville Railroad instituted a protracted lawsuit over the flooding of its tracks and finally won a judgement to $1.6 million. [6]

Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville Railroad

The Fonda, Johnstown and Gloversville Railroad (FJ&G) was formerly a 132-mile steam engine and electric interurban railroad that connected its namesake towns in east central New York State to Schenectady, New York. It had a successful and profitable transportation business from 1870 until the 1980s carrying workers, salesmen, and executives of the very large number of glove manufacturing companies in the area to the New York Central (NYC) station at Schenectady. From here they could catch trains south to New York City (NYC) or west to Chicago. It also handled freight and had freight interchange with both the New York Central and the Delaware and Hudson railroads. Passenger business declined starting before the Great Depression and particularly during it. Following a determined and expensive effort to recapture passenger business by acquiring five ultra modern high-speed Bullet interurban cars in 1932, the FJ&G abandoned passenger service in 1938. Freight business continued on for a few more decades, was later taken over by the Delaware and Otsego Railroad management and then eventually abandoned.

Uses

The primary purpose of the dam was flood control, and the water level on the lake is still carefully regulated to prevent flooding while maintaining adequate flow downstream on the Hudson. The secondary purpose was power generation. As of 2016 the dam generates 22 Megawatts. [7] The third purpose was recreation. The Great Sacandaga Lake supports boating, fishing, swimming, and water sports. Many summer rentals of homes and boats are available.

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Dam A barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface or underground streams

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Mohawk River river in New York state, United States

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Spillway structure for controlled release of flows from a dam or levee

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Great Sacandaga Lake

The Great Sacandaga Lake is a large lake situated in the Adirondack Park in northern New York in the United States. The lake has a surface area of about 41.7 square miles (108 km2) at capacity, and the length is about 29 miles (47 km). The word Sacandaga means "Land of the Waving Grass" in the local native language. The lake is located in the northern parts of Fulton County and Saratoga County near the south border of the Adirondack Park. A small part of it also extends northward into southern Hamilton County. The broader, south end of the lake is northeast of the City of Johnstown and the City of Gloversville. Great Sacandaga Lake is a reservoir created by damming the Sacandaga River. The primary purpose for the creation of the reservoir was to control flooding on the Hudson River and the Sacandaga River, floods which had a historically significant impact on the surrounding communities.

Table Rock Lake reservoir on Missouri-Arkansas border

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Longyangxia Dam concrete dam on Yellow River in Qinghai, China

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Hudson River-Black River Regulating District

The Hudson River-Black River Regulating District (HRBRRD) is a New York state public-benefit corporation that was established in 1922 in response to the severe historical flooding of the cities of Albany, Green Island, Rensselaer, Troy, and Watervliet by the Sacandaga River and Hudson River and its tributaries. The HRBRRD was created to collect excess runoff to prevent flooding in the Hudson River and Black River basins, and to release this captured water gradually during periods of low river flow to maintain water quality in each river basin. This system was designed to reduce damage from spring storms and snowmelt, including disease and destruction of life and property, and to improve river navigation and public sanitation. The HRBRRD was also formed with hydroelectric generation in mind. It owns and operates several dams - including the Conklingville Dam which formed the Great Sacandaga Lake - and reservoirs.

References

  1. "Conklingville NPDP ID : NY00146 (copy at Archive.org)". National Performance of Dams Program. Archived from the original on 2016-03-06. Retrieved Sep 27, 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Sacandaga Reservoir". The Town of Edinburg. Retrieved Sep 27, 2016.
  3. "Upper Hudson River Watershed". Hudson River-Black River Regulating District. Retrieved Sep 27, 2016.
  4. New York State Museum Bulletin, Issues 193-196. 1917. p. 66. Retrieved Sep 29, 2016.
  5. Hall-Saladino, Samantha. "Bone Yard Gang had role in reservoir effort". Leader-Herald. Retrieved Sep 29, 2016.
  6. "Flood on the Tracks" . Retrieved Sep 29, 2016.
  7. "NY Power Plants". PowerplantJobs.com. Retrieved Sep 27, 2016.