The Saluda DamFederal Writers Project. ''South Carolina: A Guide To The Palmetto State.'' Volume 5 of American Guide. Somerset Publishers, Inc., 1941. p. 377. or Saluda River Dam, officially the Dreher Shoals Dam, commonly referred to as the Lake Murray Dam, is an earthen

embankment 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 or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface ...

located approximately 10 miles (15 km) west of

Columbia, South Carolina Columbia is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of South Carolina. With a population of 136,632 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is List of municipalities in South Carolina, the second-mo ...

on the

Saluda River The Saluda River is a principal tributary of the Congaree River, about 200 mi (320 km) long, in northern and western South Carolina in the United States. Via the Congaree River, it is part of the watershed of the Santee River, whic ...

. Construction on the dam began in 1927 and was completed in 1930. The purpose of the dam is

flood control Flood management or flood control are methods used to reduce or prevent the detrimental effects of flood waters. Flooding can be caused by a mix of both natural processes, such as extreme weather upstream, and human changes to waterbodies and ru ...

hydroelectricity Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is Electricity generation, electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies 15% of the world's electricity, almost 4,210 TWh in 2023, which is more than all other Renewable energ ...

recreation Recreation is an activity of leisure, leisure being discretionary time. The "need to do something for recreation" is an essential element of human biology and psychology. Recreational activities are often done for happiness, enjoyment, amusement, ...

and water supply. At the time of its completion, the Saluda Dam was the world's largest earthen dam, creating the world's largest man-made lake, Lake Murray. In 2005, construction on a . tall roller-compacted concrete (RCC)

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, aqua ...

was completed at the toe of the original dam in order to mitigate an earthquake-caused dam failure. South Carolina Highway 6 crosses over the dam and is used as a fast connection between the towns of Lexington and Irmo. The yearly football game between rival Lexington High School and

Irmo High School Irmo High School is a public high school in unincorporated area, unincorporated Lexington County, South Carolina, Lexington County, South Carolina, United States, - The school is not directly shown on the map, but comparing its location with th ...

is often called "The Battle of the Dam".

Characteristics

The original Saluda Dam is a long, -high earthen-embankment dam. The dam contains a long emergency

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 tha ...

controlled by six

steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...

tainter gates. The back-up dam located at the original dam's toe and is a long, high roller-compacted concrete dam. Rock-fill embankment sections also exist on the south and north ends of the back up dam, making a total length of . The

power station 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 electr ...

consists of concrete five vertical

Francis turbine The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts. Francis turbines are the most common water turbine in use today, and can achieve over 95% efficiency. The pro ...

s; three at 32.5 MW, one at 42.3 MW and another at 67.5 MW. The

receives water by means of five . high intake towers and then into

penstock A penstock is a sluice or gate or intake structure that controls water flow, or an enclosed pipe that delivers water to hydro turbines and sewerage systems. The term is of Scots origin, and was inherited from the earlier technology of mill pond ...

s. Water released from the power station moves down a long tailrace tunnel before being discharged back in the Saluda River. On the dam, South Carolina Highway 6 splits into two lanes, the northward one going in between the main and backup dams, and the southward road staying on the main dam. There is also a walkway across the dam.

History

Saluda Dam Remediation Project

Construction of a backup dam immediately next to the Saluda Dam was completed in 2005 by the

SCANA SCANA Corporation was an American regulated electric and natural gas public utility. The company was based in Cayce, South Carolina, a suburb of Columbia, South Carolina. Following the Nukegate scandal, the company's stock fell and the company ...

corporation. The construction was first proposed in 1989 but did not begin until 2002. The roller-compacted concrete backup dam was required by the federal government as a mechanism for preventing flooding if an earthquake of similar magnitude to the

1886 Charleston earthquake The 1886 Charleston earthquake in South Carolina occurred about 9:50 p.m. local time August 31. It caused 60 deaths and $5–6 million ($ million in ) in damage to 2,000 buildings in the Southeastern United States. It is one of the mo ...

was to occur again in South Carolina. It was projected that large parts of the Columbia, SC metropolitan region (encompassing around 135,000 people) would have been in the flood region if the original dam was damaged. During construction, workers laid of roller-compacted concrete in one day, setting a North American record. The total fill for the back up dam is . Because of this and the worker's "...proactive approach to protecting the surrounding communities, and the innovative methods they implemented to achieve that goal...", it received the 2006

American Society of Civil Engineers The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) is a tax-exempt professional body founded in 1852 to represent members of the civil engineering profession worldwide. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, it is the oldest national engineering soci ...

Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award.

External links

Scana Insight Article on Dam

DESCRIPTION OF THE SALUDA HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT

"Mile Long Earthen Dam Is Impervious To Water", May 1931, Popular Mechanics

References

{{reflist Dams in South Carolina Buildings and structures in Lexington County, South Carolina Hydroelectric power plants in South Carolina Roller-compacted concrete dams 1930 establishments in South Carolina Earth-filled dams

Characteristics

History

Saluda Dam Remediation Project

See also

External links

References