Stratton Lock and Dam

Last updated
Stratton Lock and Dam
Official nameWilliam G. Stratton - Thomas A. Bolger Lock and Dam
CountryUSA
LocationNunda Township, McHenry County, Illinois
Coordinates 42°18′36″N88°15′6″W / 42.31000°N 88.25167°W / 42.31000; -88.25167
Purpose Flood control
StatusOperational
Construction began1939
Owner(s)Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Dam and spillways
ImpoundsFox River
Website
https://dnr.illinois.gov/waterresources/strattonlockanddam.html

The Stratton Lock and Dam (known until 1991 as the McHenry Dam, officially named the William G. Stratton - Thomas A. Bolger Lock and Dam) is a dam in Nunda Township, McHenry County, Illinois. It is named after former Governor William Stratton and Representative Thomas A. Bolger. The dam is the only dam on the Fox River (Illinois, USA) that is served by a lock system.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Construction

The first dam at the site was a wooden dam built in 1907. This dam deteriorated and was replaced by a steel sheet piling design sometime before 1915. A lock was constructed at the same time as this dam. The lock and dam were conveyed to the Illinois DNR in 1923-24. Significant damage to the structure occurred during flooding in November 1937 and July 1938. Due to this damage, the State of Illinois Department of Public Works and Buildings, Division of Waterways, built the present dam and control structure in 1939. The present lock was constructed in 1958-1960 and opened for use on June 1, 1960. [1]

The dam features a Spillway Crest 221' long at elevation 736.7, 50' long Hinged Crest Gate with variable height from 6" above spillway (737.2) to 730.3; installed in 2002, and 5 Sluice Gates that are 13.75' long.

Extension

The Stratton Lock and Dam Life Extension Project, announced in 2014, included the construction of a new controlling structure immediately upstream of the 1939 dam, berm rehabilitation along the west side of the Fox River due to erosion, and the extension of the lock downstream, doubling its capacity. [2] The work was completed before the start of the 2017 boating season.

Operations

The Dam maintains the Fox Chain O'Lakes Pool levels while the Lock provides recreational passage between the Fox Chain O'Lakes in northern Illinois, and the Fox River for recreational watercraft from May through October and is closed for the winter season each year from November 1 through April 30. An average of 17,000 boats pass through the aging locks annually, along with millions of gallons of water. [2]

The facility is owned and run by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources. The lock operates for all powered, sail-driven, or paddle-propelled canoes or boats, even float tubes, at no charge.

The operation goals of Stratton Dam are to maintain a recreational pool, utilize available storage in the Chain of Lakes to minimize regional flooding, maintain minimum flows for water supply and aquatic habitat, and limit flows during ice jam periods. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Lake, Illinois</span> Village in Illinois, United States

Fox Lake is a village in Grant and Antioch townships in Lake County, Illinois and Burton Township, McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,978 at the 2020 census. It is located approximately 57 miles north of Chicago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox River (Illinois River tributary)</span> River in Illinois, United States

The Fox River is a 202-mile-long (325 km) tributary of the Illinois River, flowing from southeastern Wisconsin to Ottawa, Illinois in the United States. The Wisconsin section was known as the Pishtaka River in the 19th century. There is another Fox River in Wisconsin that flows through Lake Winnebago into Green Bay. There are also two other "Fox Rivers" in southern Illinois: the Fox River and a smaller "Fox River" that joins the Wabash River near New Harmony, Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Winnebago</span> Lake in Wisconsin

Lake Winnebago is a shallow freshwater lake in the north central United States, located in east central Wisconsin. At 137,700 acres, it is the largest lake entirely within the state, covering an area of about 30 miles by 10 miles with 88 miles of shoreline, an average depth of 15.5 feet, and a maximum depth of 21 feet. It has many shallow reefs along the west shore and a drop-off type shoreline on the east. There are several islands along the west shore.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allagash River</span> River in northern Maine, United States

The Allagash River is a tributary of the Saint John River, approximately 65 miles (105 km) long, in northern Maine in the United States. It drains in a remote and scenic area of wilderness in the Maine North Woods north of Mount Katahdin. The name "Allagash" comes from the Abenaki language, a dialect of the Algonquin languages, spoken by the Penobscot Tribe. The word, /walakéskʸihtəkʸ/, means "bark stream".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox–Wisconsin Waterway</span>

The Fox–Wisconsin Waterway is a waterway formed by the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. First used by European settlers in 1673 during the expedition of Marquette & Joliet, it was one of the principal routes used by travelers between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River until the completion of the Illinois and Michigan Canal in 1848 and the arrival of railroads. The western terminus of the Fox–Wisconsin Waterway was at the Mississippi at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. It continued up the Wisconsin River about 116 miles (187 km) until reaching Portage, Wisconsin. There travelers would portage to the Upper Fox River, or eventually, use the Portage Canal. It continued about 160 miles (260 km) down the Fox River, following it through Lake Winnebago and continuing on the Lower Fox over 170 feet of falls to the eastern terminus of Green Bay.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spillway</span> Structure for controlled release of flows from a dam or levee

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 that water does not damage parts of the structure not designed to convey water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Table Rock Lake</span> Man-made lake in Missouri and Arkansas, United States

Table Rock Lake is an artificial lake or reservoir in the Ozarks of southwestern Missouri and northwestern Arkansas in the United States. Designed, built and operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the lake is impounded by Table Rock Dam, which was constructed from 1954 to 1958 on the White River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox Valley (Illinois)</span> Region centered on the Fox River of Northern Illinois

The Fox Valley—also commonly known as the Fox River Valley—is a region centered on the Fox River of Northern Illinois, along the western edges of the Chicago metropolitan area. The region extends from the village of Antioch, in far northern Illinois, to the city of Ottawa in the south. It includes rural areas, suburban development, and 19th-century downtowns. Around 1 million people live in this area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Hickory Lock and Dam</span> Dam on the Cumberland River in Tennessee, United States

Old Hickory Lock and Dam is a dam located in middle Tennessee on the Cumberland River at river mile 216.2 in Sumner and Davidson Counties, approximately 25 miles (40 km) upstream from Nashville. The reservoir behind the dam is Old Hickory Lake. The dam and lake are named after President Andrew Jackson, who lived in the vicinity at The Hermitage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Burnsville Lake</span> Reservoir in Braxton County, West Virginia

Burnsville Lake is both a recreational and flood control reservoir on Little Kanawha River located southeast of Burnsville in Braxton County, West Virginia. Burnsville Lake was authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1938.

Millwood Lake is a reservoir in southwestern Arkansas, United States. It is located 9 miles (14 km) from Ashdown and is formed from the damming of the point where Little River and Saline River meet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chain O'Lakes</span>

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chain O'Lakes State Park (Illinois)</span> State park in Illinois, USA

Chain O'Lakes State Park is a 2,793-acre (1,130 ha) Illinois state park at the inlet of the Fox River into the Chain O'Lakes in Lake and McHenry counties, in the suburban wildlife of Chicago, Illinois, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ingleside, Illinois</span> Unincorporated community in Illinois, United States

Ingleside is an unincorporated community in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Ingleside is between Fox Lake, Round Lake Heights, and Lake Villa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Exchequer Dam</span> Dam in Mariposa County, California

New Exchequer Dam is a concrete–faced, rock-fill dam on the Merced River in central California in the United States. It forms Lake McClure, which impounds the river for irrigation and hydroelectric power production and has a capacity of more than 1,000,000 acre-feet (1.2 km3). The Merced Irrigation District (MID) operates the dam and was also responsible for its construction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leesville Lake (Ohio)</span> Reservoir in Carroll County, Ohio

Leesville Lake is a reservoir located near Ohio State Route 212 and Leesville, Ohio. The lake is formed by Leesville Dam 40°28′6″N81°11′41″W across McGuire Creek, a tributary of Conotton Creek. The lake is named for the village of Leesville.

The Glen D. Palmer Dam is a 6-foot-high (1.8 m) dam across the Fox River in Yorkville, Illinois, about 35.9 miles (58.2 km) upstream from the confluence with the Illinois River, and 940 feet upstream from the Route-47 bridge. The dam is named after the original manager of the State Game Farm, formerly located in Yorkville.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Montgomery Dam</span> Dam in Aurora, Illinois

The Montgomery Dam is a gravity dam on the Fox River in Montgomery, Illinois. The dam was built for flood control and navigation in 1969 as a part of the Stratton project dam system which was designed to keep the river navagable from the Wisconsin border to the confluence with the Illinois River. It is owned by Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Carroll (Illinois)</span> Reservoir in Carroll County, Illinois

Lake Carroll is a man-made recreational lake located in Carroll County, Illinois. It was formed in 1974 by the damming of the east fork of the Plum River near the town of Lanark, Illinois. The earthen dam is owned and operated by the Lake Carroll Association. It is the largest private lake in the state of Illinois. Access to the lake is permitted only to members of the Lake Carroll Association, which is composed of the owners of property both on and off the lake. The community surrounding the lake is the Lake Carroll census-designated place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nacimiento Dam</span> Dam in San Luis Obispo County, California

Nacimiento Dam is a dam on the Nacimiento River about 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Paso Robles, California in the United States. The primary purpose of the dam is to provide groundwater recharge for agriculture in Monterey County and northern San Luis Obispo County supported by the Salinas Valley aquifer, as well as flood control, domestic water supply, and hydropower. It forms Lake Nacimiento, popular for boating, fishing and camping, and known locally as the "Dragon Lake" due to its shape.

References

  1. "Operation of the Stratton & Algonquin Dams" (PDF). Illinois Department of Natural Resources. February 2012. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Stratton Lock and Dam". Illinois Department of Natural Resources. Retrieved January 2, 2022.

42°18′36″N88°15′06″W / 42.31000°N 88.25167°W / 42.31000; -88.25167