Detroit Dam is a

gravity dam A gravity dam is a dam constructed from concrete or stone masonry and designed to hold back water by using only the weight of the material and its resistance against the foundation. Gravity dams are designed so that each section of the dam is ...

on the North Santiam River between Linn County and Marion County,

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while t ...

. It is located in the Cascades, about west of the city of

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. It was constructed between 1949 and 1953 by the

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

. The dam created deep

Detroit Lake Detroit Lake is a reservoir impounded by the Detroit Dam on the North Santiam River southeast of Salem, Oregon, United States. The lake is adjacent to Oregon Route 22 near the city of Detroit, Oregon, Detroit. This mesotrophic lake stores water ...

, more than 9 miles (14 km) long with 32 miles (51 km) of

shoreline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

. It is one of the dams authorized by the

Flood Control Act of 1938 The Flood Control Act of 1938 was an Act of the United States Congress signed into law by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt that authorized civil engineering projects such as dams, levees, dikes, and other flood control measures through the Un ...

. Construction was delayed largely due to World War II. The dam, dedicated on June 10, 1953, was authorized for the purposes of flood control, power generation, navigation, and irrigation. Other uses are fishery, water quality, and recreation. It was built in concert with the Big Cliff Dam downstream. In 2021, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers determined that this dam was at risk of failing in a large earthquake in the Cascadia subduction zone, which would result in a "potentially catastrophic flood", which could potentially affect Oregon's state capital, Salem, located downstream. For this reason, the level of the reservoir was lowered by five feet, to reduce the stress on the concrete structure. File:Detroit Dam - free-overflow spill test.jpg, Free-overflow spill test, 2013 File:Detroit Dam.jpg, Top of Dam

Capacity

Source: * Drainage area: 437 mi² (1,132 km²) * Maximum inflow: 63,200 ft³/s (1,790 m³/s) 1909 * Lake Elevation ** Maximum pool: 1,574 ft (480 m) ** Full pool: 1,569 ft (478 m) ** Minimum flood control pool: 1,450 ft (442 m) * Usable storage (1,425.0 to 1,563.5 ft) = * Powerhouse ** Number of units: 2 ** Nameplate capacity: 100 MW ** Overload capacity: 115 MW ** Hydraulic capacity: 5,340 ft³/s (151 m³/s)

References

External links

Corps of Engineers plots
of lake level and flow for various intervals up to a year Dams in Oregon Hydroelectric power plants in Oregon Buildings and structures in Linn County, Oregon Buildings and structures in Marion County, Oregon United States Army Corps of Engineers dams Dams completed in 1953 Energy infrastructure completed in 1953 1953 establishments in Oregon Gravity dams