Richard B. Russell Dam is a concrete-gravity and embankment dam located on the Savannah River at the border of South Carolina and Georgia, creating Richard B. Russell Lake. The dam was built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1974 and 1985 for the purposes of flood 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 the Hartwell Dam (1962) and 37 miles (60 km) upstream from the J. Strom Thurmond Dam (1954).[1]
The Flood Control Act of 1966 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 power 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 a pumped-storage hydroelectricity capability.[1]
Dam characteristicsedit
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 and spillway 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.
Power plantedit
The powerhouse is 690 feet (210 m) long and contains eight 75 MW generators. Four generators are conventional turbines 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.[1]
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.[1]
richard, russell, concrete, gravity, embankment, located, savannah, river, border, south, carolina, georgia, creating, richard, russell, lake, built, army, corps, engineers, between, 1974, 1985, purposes, flood, control, hydroelectricity, recreation, additiona. Richard B Russell Dam is a concrete gravity and embankment dam located on the Savannah River at the border of South Carolina and Georgia creating Richard B Russell Lake The dam was built by the U S Army Corps of Engineers between 1974 and 1985 for the purposes of flood 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 the Hartwell Dam 1962 and 37 miles 60 km upstream from the J Strom Thurmond Dam 1954 1 Richard B Russell DamRichard B Russell DamLocationAbbeville County South Carolina Elbert County Georgia USACoordinates34 01 30 N 82 35 39 W 34 02500 N 82 59417 W 34 02500 82 59417Construction began1974Opening date1985Construction cost 626 million USDOperator s U S Army Corps of EngineersDam and spillwaysType of damEmbankment concrete gravityImpoundsSavannah RiverHeight210 ft 64 m thalweg Length 98 mi 1 58 km ReservoirCreatesRichard B Russell LakeCatchment area2 890 sq mi 7 500 km2 Surface area26 650 acres 10 780 ha Power StationTypePumped storageTurbines8 total 4 x 75 MW 101 000 hp 4 x 75 MW reversibleInstalled capacity600 MW 800 000 hp Annual generation465 5 GWh 1 676 TJ Contents 1 History and construction 2 Dam characteristics 3 Power plant 4 References 5 External linksHistory and construction editThe Flood Control Act of 1966 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 power 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 a pumped storage hydroelectricity capability 1 Dam characteristics editThe 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 and spillway 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 Power plant editThe powerhouse is 690 feet 210 m long and contains eight 75 MW generators Four generators are conventional turbines 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 1 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 1 References edit a b c d USACE Richard B Russell Dam HydropowerExternal links edit nbsp Georgia U S state portal nbsp United States portal nbsp Water portal nbsp Renewable energy portalUSACE Richard B Russell Dam and Lake Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Richard B Russell Dam amp oldid 1145779668, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
