| Richard B. Russell Dam | |
|---|---|
 Richard B. Russell Dam | |
| Location | Abbeville County, South Carolina /Elbert County, Georgia,USA |
| Coordinates | 34°01′30″N82°35′39″W / 34.02500°N 82.59417°W /34.02500; -82.59417 |
| Construction began | 1974 |
| Opening date | 1985 |
| Construction cost | $626 millionUSD |
| Operator(s) | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment, concrete-gravity |
| Impounds | Savannah River |
| Height | 210 ft (64 m) (thalweg) |
| Length | .98 mi (1.58 km) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Richard B. Russell Lake |
| Catchment area | 2,890 sq mi (7,500 km2) |
| Surface area | 26,650 acres (10,780 ha) |
| Power Station | |
| Type | Pumped-storage |
| Turbines | 8 total: 4 x 75 MW (101,000 hp), 4 x 75 MW reversible |
| Installed capacity | 600 MW (800,000 hp) |
| Annual generation | 465.5 GWh (1,676 TJ) |
Richard B. Russell Dam is aconcrete-gravity andembankment dam located on theSavannah River at the border ofSouth Carolina andGeorgia, creatingRichard B. Russell Lake. Thedam was built by theU.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1974 and 1985 for the purposes offlood control,hydroelectricity,recreation, additional stream flow regulation, water supply, and fish and wildlife management. The concrete structure of the dam spans 1,904 feet (580 m) and rises 210 feet (64 m) above the riverbed, housing a hydro-power plant with an installed 600 megawatts (800,000 hp) 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 theHartwell Dam (1962) and 37 miles (60 km) upstream from theJ. Strom Thurmond Dam (1954).[1]
TheFlood Control Act of 1966 authorized construction of a new reservoir on theSavannah River to be named Trotters Shoals Lake and Dam. The lake and dam were renamed in 1987 after Georgia senatorRichard Brevard Russell Jr. in the same bill that alsorenamed 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 originalpower plant of four 75 megawatts (101,000 hp) 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 apumped-storage hydroelectricity capability.[1]
The dam has a total length of 5,224 feet (1,592 m) 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 3,320 feet (1,010 m) long. The concrete section houses the power plant andspillway of the dam. The spillway contains ten-50 by 45 feet (15 m × 14 m)tainter gates that help regulate the reservoir level along with controlling flooding.
Thepowerhouse is 690 feet (210 m) long and contains eight 75 MWgenerators. Four generators are conventionalturbines and another four are reversible turbines. With the four-reversible turbines, the dam can be used forpumped-storage hydroelectricity by pumping water that is discharged downstream back into the reservoir; essentially reusing water.[1]
Since the Russell Dam is primarily apeaking 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 theSoutheastern Power Administration.[1]
Dams on theSavannah River | |
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