Richard B. Russell Dam is a

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...

-gravity and embankment dam located on the Savannah River at the border of

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

and

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, creating Richard B. Russell Lake. The

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use ...

was built by the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

between 1974 and 1985 for the purposes of

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 ...

hydroelectricity 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 ...

, recreation, additional stream flow regulation, water supply, and fish and wildlife management. The concrete structure of the dam spans and rises above the riverbed, housing a hydro-

power plant A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the electricity generation, generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an el ...

with an installed capacity. The Richard B. Russell Dam is the final large dam completed by the U.S. Army Corps in the Savannah River Basin and lies 30 miles downstream from the

Hartwell Dam Hartwell Dam is a concrete and embankment dam located on the Savannah River at the border of South Carolina and Georgia, creating Lake Hartwell. The dam was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1955 and 1962 for the purposes of flood ...

(1962) and upstream from the J. Strom Thurmond Dam (1954).USACE Richard B. Russell Dam Hydropower
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History and construction

The

Flood Control Act of 1966 A flood is an overflow of water ( or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are an area of study of the discipline hydrolog ...

authorized construction of a new reservoir on the Savannah River to be named Trotters Shoals Lake and Dam. The lake and dam were renamed in 1987 after Georgia senator Richard Brevard Russell Jr. in the same bill that also renamed Clarks Hill Lake to Lake Strom Thurmond. Construction on the new dam began in 1974 and filling of the lake began in October 1983. The lake reached full pool in December 1984 and the original

of four conventional turbine-generators went online in January 1985. In 1992, the addition of four 75 MW reversible pump-turbine units was completed, giving the dam a pumped-storage hydroelectricity capability.

Dam characteristics

The dam has a total length of with its concrete section making up 1,904 feet of that length. The concrete section is flanked on both sides by earthen- embankment dams that total long. The concrete section houses the power plant and

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 ...

of the dam. The spillway contains ten-

tainter gate The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams and canal locks to control water flow. It is named for Wisconsin structural engineer Jeremiah Burnham Tainter. A side view of a Tainter gate resembles a slice of pie with the ...

s that help regulate the reservoir level along with controlling flooding.

Power plant

The powerhouse is long and contains eight 75 MW generators. Four generators are conventional

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced by a turbine can be used for generating ...

s and another four are reversible turbines. With the four-reversible turbines, the dam can be used for pumped-storage hydroelectricity by pumping water that is discharged downstream back into the reservoir; essentially reusing water. Since the Russell Dam is primarily a peaking facility, the reversible pump-turbines pump water from the backwaters of Lake Thurmond into Lake Russell during off-peak hours when electricity is cheap and demand is low. During periods of high power demand, the water is released to generate electricity. Power produced by the dam is managed by the

Southeastern Power Administration The Southeastern Power Administration is a United States Power Marketing Administration with responsibility for marketing hydroelectric power from 23 water projects operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in the states of West Virginia, Virg ...

References

External links

USACE Richard B. Russell Dam and Lake
{{Authority control Dams completed in 1985 Buildings and structures in Abbeville County, South Carolina Dams in Georgia (U.S. state) Dams in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Elbert County, Georgia United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Gravity dams Dams on the Savannah River Pumped-storage hydroelectric power stations in the United States