Madden Dam, completed in 1935, impounds the
Chagres River in Panama to form
Lake Alajuela, a reservoir that is an essential part of the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...
drainage basin. The lake has a maximum level of above sea level. It can store one third of the canal's annual water requirements for the operation of the locks. Since the reservoir is not part of the navigational route, there are fewer restrictions on its water level.
The Madden Dam was built to prevent the occasionally torrential flow of the once wild Chagres River, which flows into the navigational route of
Gatun Lake, and to control the water level of the lake during the dry season. The river's unruly flow posed a major challenge to the construction of the Panama Canal, which was originally addressed by the construction of
Gatun Dam. Water from the dam's reservoir is also used to generate hydroelectric power and to supply Panama City's fresh water. When completed, the dam and the reservoir behind it were named for the late US Representative
Martin B. Madden (R-Illinois). The reservoir was renamed
Lake Alajuela after the Canal Zone reverted to Panamanian control at the end of 1999.
See also
*
List of power stations in Panama
References
{{Authority control
Dams completed in 1935
Energy infrastructure completed in 1935
Panama Canal
Dams in Panama
Hydroelectric power stations in Panama
1935 establishments in Panama