Moyie Dam

Last updated
The Moyie River Canyon Bridge, with Moyie Dam visible in background to the north Us-id-boundary-moyie-bridge.jpg
The Moyie River Canyon Bridge, with Moyie Dam visible in background to the north

Moyie Dam is a dam on the Moyie River in Boundary County, Idaho.

The current 92 feet (28 m) high concrete gravity dam was built in 1950, and is owned and operated by the city of Bonners Ferry, Idaho. The city acquired its own hydroelectric facilities in 1921 and expanded several times; three powerhouses about 1,000 feet (300 m) downstream were built in 1921, 1941, and 1982, and their combined output totals just under 4 megawatts. [1] As of 1984 Bonners Ferry was one of only three Idaho cities with its own municipally owned hydropower source, and the city ran it at a small profit returned to its general fund. [2]

The dam creates a small, unnamed riverine reservoir on the Moyie, holding about 540 acre-feet (670,000  m3 ). [3]

Eileen Dam

The ruins of the 1923 version of the dam, the Old Eileen Dam 48°46′32″N116°09′19″W / 48.77550°N 116.15514°W / 48.77550; -116.15514 (Old Eileen Dam)) , stands five miles upstream. It's noted as one of the few concrete single-angle thin-arch dams to be breached, although it was not a structural failure. A sudden flood in 1925 overtopped the 52-foot (16 m) dam, washed out the left embankment, and left the dam shell intact. [4] [5] There were no casualties. The shell and rusting powerhouse equipment remain, posing an obstacle, and mystery, for white-water rafters. [6] [7]

Related Research Articles

Boundary County, Idaho County in Idaho, United States

Boundary County is the northernmost county located in the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,056. The county seat and largest city is Bonners Ferry.

Bonners Ferry, Idaho City in Idaho

Bonners Ferry is the largest city and the county seat of Boundary County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,543 at the 2010 census.

Lake Pend Oreille Lake in Kootenai and Bonner counties in Idaho, United States

Lake Pend Oreille in the northern Idaho Panhandle is the largest lake in the U.S. state of Idaho and the 38th-largest lake by area in the United States, with a surface area of 148 square miles (380 km2). It is 43 miles (69 km) long, and 1,150 feet (350 m) deep in some regions, making it the fifth-deepest in the nation and having a volume of 43,939,940 acre feet = 54 km3. The lake is fed by the Clark Fork River and the Pack River, and drains into the Pend Oreille River, as well as subsurfacely into the Spokane Valley–Rathdrum Prairie Aquifer. It is surrounded by national forests and a few small towns, with the largest population on the lake at Sandpoint. The majority of the shoreline is non-populated and all but the southern tip of the lake is in Bonner County. The southern tip is in Kootenai County and is home to Farragut State Park, formerly the Farragut Naval Training Station during World War II, of which a small part is still active and conducts U.S. Navy acoustic underwater submarine research.

KPND Radio station in Deer Park, Washington

KPND is a commercial FM radio station licensed to Deer Park, Washington, and serving the Spokane metropolitan area and the Inland Northwest. It is owned by Blue Sky Broadcasting and it airs an Adult Album Alternative radio format, which it calls "Progressive Radio for the Inland Northwest." KPND shares studios and offices with its sister stations at 327 Marion Avenue in Sandpoint, Idaho.

Lower Granite Dam Dam in Garfield / Whitman counties, Washington

Lower Granite Lock and Dam is a concrete gravity run-of-the-river dam in the northwest United States. On the lower Snake River in southeastern Washington, it bridges Whitman and Garfield counties. Opened 47 years ago in 1975, the dam is located 22 miles (35 km) south of Colfax and 35 miles (56 km) north of Pomeroy.

Malpasset Dam Dam in France

The Malpasset Dam was an arch dam on the Reyran River, north of Fréjus on the French Riviera. It collapsed on 2 December 1959, killing 423 people in the resulting flood. The breach was caused by a tectonic fault in the impermeable rock base, which had been inadequately surveyed. Nearby road-building works, using explosives, may also have contributed to the disaster.

Moyie River Long tributary of the Kootenai River

The Moyie River is a 92-mile (148 km) long tributary of the Kootenai River in the U.S. state of Idaho and the Canadian province of British Columbia. The Moyie River is part of the Columbia River basin, being a tributary of the Kootenay River, which is tributary to the Columbia River.

<i>City of Ainsworth</i> (paddle steamer)

City of Ainsworth was a paddle steamer sternwheeler that worked on Kootenay Lake in British Columbia, Canada from 1892 to 1898.

Moyie River Canyon Bridge Bridge in Bonners Ferry, Idaho

The Moyie River Canyon Bridge is a structural steel truss cantilever bridge that spans the Moyie River in the city of Moyie Springs just east of Bonners Ferry, Idaho. Constructed in 1965, the bridge is on U.S. Route 2 at mile marker 70. The bridge is 1,223 ft (373 m) long and 464 ft (141 m) high, and is a replacement for an obsolete 1923 bridge built downstream from Moyie Dam.

Lucky Peak Dam Dam in Ada County, Idaho

Lucky Peak Dam is a rolled earth and gravel fill embankment dam in the western United States, located on the Boise River in Ada County, Idaho. It is directly downstream of Arrowrock Dam, a concrete arch dam completed in 1915. At the time of its construction in the early 1950s, Lucky Peak's primary purpose was flood control, with a secondary purpose of irrigation. The normal operating elevation of the full reservoir is 3,055 feet (931 m) above sea level, the empty reservoir's elevation is 2,824 feet (861 m).

Lake Hudson, also known as Markham Ferry Reservoir, is a man-made reservoir in Mayes County, Oklahoma, United States, about 2 miles (3.2 km) northwest of Locust Grove, Oklahoma and 8 miles (13 km) southeast of Pryor, Oklahoma. It was created by the completion of the Robert S. Kerr Dam on the Grand River in 1964. It is managed by the Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA).

The Shah wa Arus Dam is a 75m high concrete gravity dam located in the Shakardara District of Kabul Province in Afghanistan. It has a 60m wide three-bay spillway and is mainly geared towards provision of irrigation water as well as flood control and reliable year-round fresh water supply. Once operational, the dam will produce 1.2 megawatts (MW) of power and irrigate 2,700 hectares of land in addition to supplying drinking water for the millions of residents of Kabul.

Black Canyon Diversion Dam

Black Canyon Diversion Dam is a dam in Gem County, Idaho.

Swift Dam is a dam in Pondera County, Montana, on the southern end of the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.

Soda Dam, also known as Alexander Dam, is a dam in Caribou County, Idaho, directly west of the town of Soda Springs.

Deer Flat Upper Embankment

Deer Flat Upper Embankment is a dam in Canyon County, Idaho, directly southwest of the town of Nampa.

Cabinet is a populated place located in Bonner County, Idaho, United States. Its elevation is 2,178 feet (664 m).

McArthur Lake is a reservoir in Boundary County, Idaho, USA. It gives its name to the McArthur Lake Wildlife Corridor, which provides a bridge for wildlife to migrate between two mountainous areas. The reservoir and surrounding wetlands are rich in bird life, and are protected by the McArthur Lake Wildlife Management Area. There has been discussion about removing the dam that impounds the reservoir, which would improve the wetlands so they would support larger numbers of game birds, and would also improve the quality of water downstream.

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-03-07. Retrieved 2012-08-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. The other cities were Fall River, Idaho and Soda Springs, Idaho. Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Washington, March 27, 1984, page A6
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-12-09. Retrieved 2012-08-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. Rock Mechanics and Engineering, Charles Jaeger, second edition, page 400
  5. Environmental Hydraulics of Open Channel Flows, by Hubert Chanson, page 266
  6. http://taintedideals.blogspot.com/2006/06/being-chicken-at-dam-or-why-i-hate-to.html [ user-generated source ]
  7. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-12-17. Retrieved 2012-08-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Coordinates: 48°44′02″N116°10′31″W / 48.733995°N 116.175273°W / 48.733995; -116.175273