Largest concrete structure in the United States

Construction History

U.S Bureau of Reclamation was established by congress and was tasked with boosting development in the West by developing water storage. Grand Coulee Dam and the Columbia Basin Project are managed by the U.S Bureau of Reclamation.
Atty.William M. Clapp proposed the grand coulee dam project and gained rapid support from the citizen of Ephrata and the surrounding area.

Construction History

- A final report favoring the construction of the dam was produced by the Corp of Engineers. - Initial excavation of the dam site began -the main dam was essentially finished with construction of the powerhouses and pumping plant underway.

Dam Details :
: Concrete Gravity

: Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake

: Columbia River

: 20,685,826,251 kWh
: 259,000 square miles

Dam Details :
:
167.64 m

115.824 m 400.683 m : 393.192 m

Dam Details :
: 400 m :

1595.018 m
:

9.144 m
:

152.5 m

Operations and Benefits

Operations and Benefits

Irrigation
Water is pumped via the
Pump-Generating Plant's 12foot diameter pipes 280 ft from Lake Roosevelt to a 1.6 mi feeder canal. water is transferred to Banks Lake which has an active storage of 882,000,000 m3.

From the feeder canal, the

The plant's twelve 65,000

70,000 horsepower pumps can transfer up to 45 m3/s to the lake.

Irrigation
The Columbia Basin Project

irrigates 670,000 acres with a potential for 1.1 million Over 60 different crops are grown within the project and distributed throughout the United States

Power
Grand Coulee Dam supports
four different power houses containing 33 hydroelectric generators. Powerhouses contain 18 main generators and the Left has an additional three service generators for total installed capacity of 2,280 MW. contains a total of six main generators with a 4,215 MW installed capacity.

The original Left and Right

The Third Powerplant

Power

The largest of these feed

In 2008, close to

the Third Power plant and are 40 ft in diameter , 2 billion kWh of electricity was generated.

Spillway
Grand Coulee
Dam's spillway is 500 m long and is an overflow, drum-gate controlled type with a 1,000,000 cu ft/s maximum capacity and June 1948 flooded lowland below the dam and highlighted its limited flood control capability at the time, as its spillway and turbines hit a record flow of 637,800-cubic-footper-second.

A record flood in May

Spillway
The flood damaged
downstream riverbanks and deteriorated the face of the dam and its flip bucket at the base (toe) of the spillway. Columbia River Treaty and its provisions for dams constructed upstream in Canada, which would regulate the Columbia's flow .

The flood spurred the

Spillway

Environmental and Social Consequences

The dam had severe negative consequences for the local Native
American tribes whose traditional way of life revolved around salmon and the original shrub steppe habitat of the area. Because it lacks a fish ladder, Grand Coulee Dam permanently blocks fish migration, removing over 1,100 mi of natural spawning habitat. where Native Americans had been living and hunting for thousands of years, forcing the relocation of settlements and graveyards.

Grand Coulee Dam flooded over 21,000 acres of prime bottom land

Environmental and Social Consequences

In one study, the Army Corps of Engineers estimated the annual loss
was over 1 million fish.

The Columbia Basin Project has affected habitat ranges for species such The environmental impact of the dam effectively ended the traditional
way of life of the native inhabitants.

as whitetail and mule deer, pygmy rabbits and burrowing owls, resulting in decreased populations.

Grand Coulee Photo Gallery

Did you know that?

A is a deep dry ravine that was originally created by flowing water.

is one of the largest concrete structures in the world.

the reservoir behind the dam, extends over

Did you know that?

There is enough concrete in the Grand Coulee Dam to build a thick - A four inches . It is the the United States.

facility in