The Churchill Falls Generating Station is a hydroelectric underground power station in Labrador . At 5,428 MW, it is the sixteenth largest in the world, and the second-largest in Canada , after the Robert-Bourassa generating station in northwestern Quebec .
87-488: Rather than a single large dam , the plant's reservoir is contained by 88 dykes , totalling 64 km in length. The Smallwood Reservoir has a capacity of 33 cubic kilometres in a catchment area of about 72,000 square kilometres, an area larger than the Republic of Ireland . It drops over 305 metres to the site of the plant's 11 turbines . The plant's power house was hewn from solid granite 300 metres underground. It
174-465: A 225 MW generating station was built at Twin Falls to supply power to iron mining industries in western Labrador. Canada is a federation where legal authority is split between the federal and provincial governments; natural resources such as lumber , petroleum , and inland waterways are under the jurisdiction of provincial, rather than the national government. Since Labrador had no internal market for
261-401: A balancing compression stress in the downstream face, providing additional economy. For this type of dam, it is essential to have an impervious foundation with high bearing strength. Permeable foundations have a greater likelihood of generating uplift pressures under the dam. Uplift pressures are hydrostatic pressures caused by the water pressure of the reservoir pushing up against the bottom of
348-589: A comparison, the water starting 30 km (19 mi) upriver until it enters the power plant drops over 1,000 ft (300 m). The machine hall, hewn from solid granite , is almost 300 m (980 ft) underground. The 1,800,000 cubic metres of rock excavated was used in roads, building the town site, and as dike material. The hall is about 300 m (980 ft) long, up to 25 m (82 ft) wide and about 50 m (160 ft) high. It houses 11 generating units. The francis turbine wheels are cast of stainless steel and weigh 73 tonnes each. Water
435-410: A cost of almost a billion dollars in 1970, the first two generating units began delivering power in 1971, almost half a year ahead of schedule. In 1974 the station went into full-time production. The 225 MW Twin Falls power station , opened in 1963, was essential to the later power development at Churchill Falls. It helped open up the area and supplied the power required during the construction phase of
522-544: A dam as "jurisdictional" or "non-jurisdictional" varies by location. In the United States, each state defines what constitutes a non-jurisdictional dam. In the state of Colorado a non-jurisdictional dam is defined as a dam creating a reservoir with a capacity of 100 acre-feet or less and a surface area of 20 acres or less and with a height measured as defined in Rules 4.2.5.1. and 4.2.19 of 10 feet or less. In contrast,
609-499: A dam that directed waterflow. It was finished in 251 BC. A large earthen dam, made by Sunshu Ao , the prime minister of Chu (state) , flooded a valley in modern-day northern Anhui Province that created an enormous irrigation reservoir (100 km (62 mi) in circumference), a reservoir that is still present today. Roman dam construction was characterized by "the Romans' ability to plan and organize engineering construction on
696-493: A distinct vertical curvature to it as well lending it the vague appearance of a concave lens as viewed from downstream. The multiple-arch dam consists of a number of single-arch dams with concrete buttresses as the supporting abutments, as for example the Daniel-Johnson Dam , Québec, Canada. The multiple-arch dam does not require as many buttresses as the hollow gravity type but requires a good rock foundation because
783-478: A grand scale." Roman planners introduced the then-novel concept of large reservoir dams which could secure a permanent water supply for urban settlements over the dry season. Their pioneering use of water-proof hydraulic mortar and particularly Roman concrete allowed for much larger dam structures than previously built, such as the Lake Homs Dam , possibly the largest water barrier to that date, and
870-483: A great deal of resentment. Events unforeseen at the time of the 1969 negotiation have greatly increased Hydro-Quebec's profit margin on the fixed price of energy from the station. The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has unsuccessfully challenged the 1969 contract in court. In November 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected a bid to force Hydro-Québec to reopen the contract before 2041, deciding that
957-511: A minor tributary of the Nieuwe Maas . The central square of Amsterdam, covering the original site of the 800-year-old dam, still carries the name Dam Square . The Romans were the first to build arch dams , where the reaction forces from the abutment stabilizes the structure from the external hydrostatic pressure , but it was only in the 19th century that the engineering skills and construction materials available were capable of building
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#17327753030571044-509: A notable increase in interest in SHPs. Couto and Olden (2018) conducted a global study and found 82,891 small hydropower plants (SHPs) operating or under construction. Technical definitions of SHPs, such as their maximum generation capacity, dam height, reservoir area, etc., vary by country. A dam is non-jurisdictional when its size (usually "small") excludes it from being subject to certain legal regulations. The technical criteria for categorising
1131-649: A profession based on a rigorously applied scientific theoretical framework. This new emphasis was centered around the engineering faculties of universities in France and in the United Kingdom. William John Macquorn Rankine at the University of Glasgow pioneered the theoretical understanding of dam structures in his 1857 paper On the Stability of Loose Earth . Rankine theory provided a good understanding of
1218-566: A settling pond, and a 1,000 m (3,300 ft) canal to a distribution tank. These works were not finished until 325 AD when the dam permitted the irrigation of 25,000 acres (100 km ). Eflatun Pınar is a Hittite dam and spring temple near Konya , Turkey. It is thought to date from the Hittite empire between the 15th and 13th centuries BC. The Kallanai is constructed of unhewn stone, over 300 m (980 ft) long, 4.5 m (15 ft) high and 20 m (66 ft) wide, across
1305-408: A whole dam itself, that dam also would be held in place by gravity, i.e., there is no tension in the upstream face of the dam holding the top of the dam down. The designer does this because it is usually more practical to make a dam of material essentially just piled up than to make the material stick together against vertical tension. The shape that prevents tension in the upstream face also eliminates
1392-630: Is 0.25425¢ per kilowatt-hour until 2016 and 0.20¢ for the last 25 years of the contract —to build and maintain power lines to carry the power to market and to enter into a risk-sharing agreement whereas the Quebec Crown corporation would cover part of the interest risk and buy some of BRINCO's debt, in exchange for an increased share in CF(L)Co. The 5,428-megawatt generating station delivered its first kilowatt hours on December 6, 1971 and its 11 turbines were fully operational by June 1974. In 1974
1479-723: Is a joint venture between Nalcor and Emera to develop the remaining 35 percent of the Churchill River basin. Originally called the Mishtashipu (Big River) by the Innu , in 1821 the river was called Hamilton by Captain William Martin of HMS Clinker , after Sir Charles Hamilton the Governor of Newfoundland from 1818 to 1823. The waterfall itself was called Grand Falls. In 1965, after the death of Winston Churchill
1566-549: Is about 300 metres long and as high as a 15-story building. The station cost almost a billion Canadian dollars to build in 1970. Commissioned from 1971 to 1974, it is owned and operated by the Churchill Falls Labrador Corporation Limited , a joint venture between Nalcor Energy (65.8%) and Hydro-Québec (34.2%). Workers at the station live in the purpose-built company town of Churchill Falls . The ongoing Lower Churchill Project
1653-457: Is contained by a reservoir created not by a single large dam, but by a series of 88 dikes that have a total length of 64 km (40 mi). The reservoir, later known as Smallwood Reservoir , covers 5,700 km (2,200 sq mi) and can contain more than 28 km (1 trillion cu ft) of water. In Newfoundland and Labrador , the contract between Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation (CFLCo) and Hydro-Québec has created
1740-424: Is dependent on the strength of the side wall abutments, hence not only should the arch be well seated on the side walls but also the character of the rock should be carefully inspected. Two types of single-arch dams are in use, namely the constant-angle and the constant-radius dam. The constant-radius type employs the same face radius at all elevations of the dam, which means that as the channel grows narrower towards
1827-480: Is often used in conjunction with dams to generate electricity. A dam can also be used to collect or store water which can be evenly distributed between locations. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees (also known as dikes ) are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. The word dam can be traced back to Middle English , and before that, from Middle Dutch , as seen in
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#17327753030571914-471: Is sloped the distribution is more complicated. The normal component of the weight of the arch ring may be taken by the arch action, while the normal hydrostatic pressure will be distributed as described above. For this type of dam, firm reliable supports at the abutments (either buttress or canyon side wall) are more important. The most desirable place for an arch dam is a narrow canyon with steep side walls composed of sound rock. The safety of an arch dam
2001-399: Is the more widely used of the two, though the hollow dam is frequently more economical to construct. Grand Coulee Dam is a solid gravity dam and Braddock Locks & Dam is a hollow gravity dam. A gravity dam can be combined with an arch dam into an arch-gravity dam for areas with massive amounts of water flow but less material available for a pure gravity dam. The inward compression of
2088-590: Is the thinnest arch dam in the world and one of the oldest arch dams in Asia. It was constructed some 700 years ago in Tabas county , South Khorasan Province , Iran . It stands 60 meters tall, and in crest is a one meter width. Some historians believe the dam was built by Shāh Abbās I, whereas others believe that he repaired it. In the Netherlands , a low-lying country, dams were often built to block rivers to regulate
2175-657: The Fayum Depression to the Nile in Middle Egypt. Two dams called Ha-Uar running east–west were built to retain water during the annual flood and then release it to surrounding lands. The lake called Mer-wer or Lake Moeris covered 1,700 km (660 sq mi) and is known today as Birket Qarun. By the mid-late third millennium BC, an intricate water-management system in Dholavira in modern-day India
2262-579: The Harbaqa Dam , both in Roman Syria . The highest Roman dam was the Subiaco Dam near Rome ; its record height of 50 m (160 ft) remained unsurpassed until its accidental destruction in 1305. Roman engineers made routine use of ancient standard designs like embankment dams and masonry gravity dams. Apart from that, they displayed a high degree of inventiveness, introducing most of
2349-645: The Legislative Assembly of Quebec Jacques Dumoulin stated that for Canada, the best judges are Canadians. The Quebec government did not accept this judgement as seen by borders on maps issued in 1939 by the Quebec Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources . Certain newspapers called for a takeover of the territory, In 1953 the British Newfoundland Development Corporation (BRINCO) was formed for
2436-540: The National Inventory of Dams (NID). Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation Limited Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation Limited , also known as CF(L)Co or CFLco is a Canadian electric company. The company was founded in 1961 and is based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador . Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation Limited operates as a subsidiary of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro . CF(L)Co
2523-783: The Newfoundland Supreme Court to recall 800 megawatts (MW) of the Churchill Falls power from CF(L)Co based upon the lease granted to the corporation in 1961. By 1980, the case had not been resolved, and in that year the Newfoundland Legislature passed the Re Upper Churchill Water Rights Reversion Act to reclaim the water rights granted to the corporation. Both legislations and the contract itself were subject to protracted legal battles between
2610-556: The Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador . The amount represents approximately 5% of Hydro-Quebec's estimated $ 80 billion (CAD) profits over the 50-years that the hydro-electric plant has been in operation. Furthermore, the Innu Nation have united with First Nations in Canada and the United States to oppose Hydro-Québec's planned transmission line to Massachusetts. A large portion of the energy for this project would be generated in
2697-645: The University of Oxford published a study of the cost of large dams – based on the largest existing dataset – documenting significant cost overruns for a majority of dams and questioning whether benefits typically offset costs for such dams. Dams can be formed by human agency, natural causes, or even by the intervention of wildlife such as beavers . Man-made dams are typically classified according to their size (height), intended purpose or structure. Based on structure and material used, dams are classified as easily created without materials, arch-gravity dams , embankment dams or masonry dams , with several subtypes. In
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2784-528: The financial risk . It is unlikely that BRINCO would have found other investors willing to take on that risk. In 1981 it made a good return on the investment at almost no risk. Construction started in July, 1967, at the time the largest civil engineering project ever undertaken in North America and the largest underground power station in the world. After five years of non-stop work by 6,300 workers and
2871-544: The British began construction in 1898. The project was designed by Sir William Willcocks and involved several eminent engineers of the time, including Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Aird , whose firm, John Aird & Co. , was the main contractor. Capital and financing were furnished by Ernest Cassel . When initially constructed between 1899 and 1902, nothing of its scale had ever before been attempted; on completion, it
2958-499: The Churchill Falls Corporation in 1965 when the name of the falls was changed to commemorate former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill . CF(L)Co began construction on Churchill Falls Generating Station in 1966 and on May 12, 1969, signed a power contract with Hydro-Québec . The agreement committed Hydro-Québec to buy most of the plant's output at one-quarter of a cent per kilowatt-hour—the exact rate
3045-545: The Churchill Falls hydroelectric plant. The timing of this lawsuit comes as the Innu Nation seeks to formalise a land claims agreement with the Government of Canada . 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 , aquaculture , and navigability . Hydropower
3132-520: The Colorado River is a constant-angle arch dam. A similar type is the double-curvature or thin-shell dam. Wildhorse Dam near Mountain City, Nevada , in the United States is an example of the type. This method of construction minimizes the amount of concrete necessary for construction but transmits large loads to the foundation and abutments. The appearance is similar to a single-arch dam but with
3219-680: The Colorado River. By 1997, there were an estimated 800,000 dams worldwide, with some 40,000 of them over 15 meters high. Early dam building took place in Mesopotamia and the Middle East . Dams were used to control water levels, for Mesopotamia's weather affected the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The earliest known dam is the Jawa Dam in Jordan , 100 kilometres (62 mi) northeast of
3306-627: The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and the Innu Nation initialed an agreement to compensate for the negative impacts of the Churchill Falls plant. The agreement offered the Labrador Innu hunting rights within 34,000 km (13,000 sq mi) of land, plus $ 2 million (CAD) annually in compensation from Nalcor Energy . In October 2020, the Innu Nation of Labrador filed a $ 4 billion (CAD) claim against Hydro-Québec through
3393-535: The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador purchased a controlling interest in CF(L)Co from BRINCO and turned it over to the Newfoundland and Labrador Power Commission . The Commission had a 65.8% share in the corporation and the remaining 34.2% was owned by Hydro-Québec . In 1967, the year CF(L)Co qualified for Crown Corporation status , the Newfoundland Government initiated proceedings in
3480-714: The Middle Ages, dams were built in the Netherlands to regulate water levels and prevent sea intrusion. In the 19th century, large-scale arch dams were constructed around the British Empire, marking advances in dam engineering techniques. The era of large dams began with the construction of the Aswan Low Dam in Egypt in 1902. The Hoover Dam, a massive concrete arch-gravity dam, was built between 1931 and 1936 on
3567-495: The United States alone, there are approximately 2,000,000 or more "small" dams that are not included in the Army Corps of Engineers National Inventory of dams . Records of small dams are kept by state regulatory agencies and therefore information about small dams is dispersed and uneven in geographic coverage. Countries worldwide consider small hydropower plants (SHPs) important for their energy strategies, and there has been
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3654-524: The World Commission on Dams also includes in the "large" category, dams which are between 5 and 15 m (16 and 49 ft) high with a reservoir capacity of more than 3 million cubic metres (2,400 acre⋅ft ). Hydropower dams can be classified as either "high-head" (greater than 30 m in height) or "low-head" (less than 30 m in height). As of 2021 , ICOLD's World Register of Dams contains 58,700 large dam records. The tallest dam in
3741-403: The arch dam, stability is obtained by a combination of arch and gravity action. If the upstream face is vertical the entire weight of the dam must be carried to the foundation by gravity, while the distribution of the normal hydrostatic pressure between vertical cantilever and arch action will depend upon the stiffness of the dam in a vertical and horizontal direction. When the upstream face
3828-666: The back of the dam through a large pipe to drive a water wheel and watermill . In the 10th century, Al-Muqaddasi described several dams in Persia. He reported that one in Ahwaz was more than 910 m (3,000 ft) long, and that it had many water-wheels raising the water into aqueducts through which it flowed into reservoirs of the city. Another one, the Band-i-Amir Dam, provided irrigation for 300 villages. Shāh Abbās Arch (Persian: طاق شاه عباس), also known as Kurit Dam ,
3915-438: The bottom of the dam the central angle subtended by the face of the dam becomes smaller. Jones Falls Dam , in Canada, is a constant radius dam. In a constant-angle dam, also known as a variable radius dam, this subtended angle is kept constant and the variation in distance between the abutments at various levels is taken care of by varying the radii. Constant-radius dams are much less common than constant-angle dams. Parker Dam on
4002-402: The buttress loads are heavy. In a gravity dam, the force that holds the dam in place against the push from the water is Earth's gravity pulling down on the mass of the dam. The water presses laterally (downstream) on the dam, tending to overturn the dam by rotating about its toe (a point at the bottom downstream side of the dam). The dam's weight counteracts that force, tending to rotate the dam
4089-501: The capital Amman . This gravity dam featured an originally 9-metre-high (30 ft) and 1 m-wide (3.3 ft) stone wall, supported by a 50 m-wide (160 ft) earthen rampart. The structure is dated to 3000 BC. However, the oldest continuously operational dam is Lake Homs Dam , built in Syria between 1319-1304 BC. The Ancient Egyptian Sadd-el-Kafara Dam at Wadi Al-Garawi, about 25 km (16 mi) south of Cairo ,
4176-646: The city. The masonry arch dam wall was designed by Lieutenant Percy Simpson who was influenced by the advances in dam engineering techniques made by the Royal Engineers in India . The dam cost £17,000 and was completed in 1856 as the first engineered dam built in Australia, and the second arch dam in the world built to mathematical specifications. The first such dam was opened two years earlier in France . It
4263-671: The construction of the Rideau Canal in Canada near modern-day Ottawa and built a series of curved masonry dams as part of the waterway system. In particular, the Jones Falls Dam , built by John Redpath , was completed in 1832 as the largest dam in North America and an engineering marvel. In order to keep the water in control during construction, two sluices , artificial channels for conducting water, were kept open in
4350-600: The contract more beneficial to one party (Hydro-Québec). In 2019 Quebec's highest court, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that Hydro-Quebec's right to sell Churchill Falls energy had a monthly cap, simplifying the management of water resources for the Lower Churchill Project 's Muskrat Falls station. Newfoundland and Labrador will be able to renegotiate the project in 2041, when the contract expires. The Churchill Falls hydroelectric plant development
4437-469: The dam by the water reduces the lateral (horizontal) force acting on the dam. Thus, the gravitational force required by the dam is lessened, i.e., the dam does not need to be so massive. This enables thinner dams and saves resources. A barrage dam is a special kind of dam that consists of a line of large gates that can be opened or closed to control the amount of water passing the dam. The gates are set between flanking piers which are responsible for supporting
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#17327753030574524-533: The dam was submitted by a consortium called Six Companies, Inc. Such a large concrete structure had never been built before, and some of the techniques were unproven. The torrid summer weather and the lack of facilities near the site also presented difficulties. Nevertheless, Six Companies turned over the dam to the federal government on 1 March 1936, more than two years ahead of schedule. By 1997, there were an estimated 800,000 dams worldwide, some 40,000 of them over 15 m (49 ft) high. In 2014, scholars from
4611-605: The dam. If large enough uplift pressures are generated there is a risk of destabilizing the concrete gravity dam. On a suitable site, a gravity dam can prove to be a better alternative to other types of dams. When built on a solid foundation, the gravity dam probably represents the best-developed example of dam building. Since the fear of flood is a strong motivator in many regions, gravity dams are built in some instances where an arch dam would have been more economical. Gravity dams are classified as "solid" or "hollow" and are generally made of either concrete or masonry. The solid form
4698-407: The dam. The first was near the base of the dam on its east side. A second sluice was put in on the west side of the dam, about 20 ft (6.1 m) above the base. To make the switch from the lower to upper sluice, the outlet of Sand Lake was blocked off. Hunts Creek near the city of Parramatta , Australia , was dammed in the 1850s, to cater to the demand for water from the growing population of
4785-450: The dams' potential range and magnitude of environmental disturbances. The International Commission on Large Dams (ICOLD) defines a "large dam" as "A dam with a height of 15 m (49 ft) or greater from lowest foundation to crest or a dam between 5 m (16 ft) metres and 15 metres impounding more than 3 million cubic metres (2,400 acre⋅ft )". "Major dams" are over 150 m (490 ft) in height. The Report of
4872-470: The falls, river, town, and generating station were all renamed again. In 1915 Wilfred Thibaudeau surveyed the Labrador Plateau. He designed a channel scheme to divert water before it arrived at the falls. The scheme would use the natural capacity of the drainage basin , which covers over 23,300 sq mi (60,000 km), eliminating the need for the construction of dams . The advantage of
4959-561: The first large-scale arch dams. Three pioneering arch dams were built around the British Empire in the early 19th century. Henry Russel of the Royal Engineers oversaw the construction of the Mir Alam dam in 1804 to supply water to the city of Hyderabad (it is still in use today). It had a height of 12 m (39 ft) and consisted of 21 arches of variable span. In the 1820s and 30s, Lieutenant-Colonel John By supervised
5046-742: The first was the Roman-built dam bridge in Dezful , which could raise water 50 cubits (c. 23 m) to supply the town. Also diversion dams were known. Milling dams were introduced which the Muslim engineers called the Pul-i-Bulaiti . The first was built at Shustar on the River Karun , Iran, and many of these were later built in other parts of the Islamic world . Water was conducted from
5133-534: The force of water. A fixed-crest dam is a concrete barrier across a river. Fixed-crest dams are designed to maintain depth in the channel for navigation. They pose risks to boaters who may travel over them, as they are hard to spot from the water and create induced currents that are difficult to escape. There is variability, both worldwide and within individual countries, such as in the United States, in how dams of different sizes are categorized. Dam size influences construction, repair, and removal costs and affects
5220-532: The high profits of Hydro-Québec did not justify re-opening the contract. The majority decision held that the unforeseeability of future energy price increases was a risk that the CFLCo had assumed when the contract was signed and the court could not force the parties to re-open the contract. Gascon additionally said that unforeseeability would justify overturning the contract only if it made the contract less beneficial to one party and not in this case, where it merely made
5307-645: The main stream of the Kaveri River in Tamil Nadu , South India . The basic structure dates to the 2nd century AD and is considered one of the oldest water diversion or water regulating structures still in use. The purpose of the dam was to divert the waters of the Kaveri across the fertile delta region for irrigation via canals. Du Jiang Yan is the oldest surviving irrigation system in China that included
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#17327753030575394-633: The names of many old cities, such as Amsterdam and Rotterdam . Ancient dams were built in Mesopotamia and the Middle East for water control. The earliest known dam is the Jawa Dam in Jordan , dating to 3,000 BC. Egyptians also built dams, such as Sadd-el-Kafara Dam for flood control. In modern-day India, Dholavira had an intricate water-management system with 16 reservoirs and dams. The Great Dam of Marib in Yemen, built between 1750 and 1700 BC,
5481-518: The other basic dam designs which had been unknown until then. These include arch-gravity dams , arch dams , buttress dams and multiple arch buttress dams , all of which were known and employed by the 2nd century AD (see List of Roman dams ). Roman workforces also were the first to build dam bridges, such as the Bridge of Valerian in Iran. In Iran , bridge dams such as the Band-e Kaisar were used to provide hydropower through water wheels , which often powered water-raising mechanisms. One of
5568-429: The other way about its toe. The designer ensures that the dam is heavy enough that the dam's weight wins that contest. In engineering terms, that is true whenever the resultant of the forces of gravity acting on the dam and water pressure on the dam acts in a line that passes upstream of the toe of the dam. The designer tries to shape the dam so if one were to consider the part of the dam above any particular height to be
5655-479: The power, it had to negotiate with neighbouring Quebec to export the power. Controversy over the ownership of the Labrador Peninsula added to the difficulties of negotiating between Newfoundland and Quebec. A British colony at the time, Newfoundland disputed ownership with the Canadian province of Quebec. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom ruled in favour of the Dominion of Newfoundland in 1927, an unpopular judgment in Quebec. Member of
5742-432: The principles behind dam design. In France, J. Augustin Tortene de Sazilly explained the mechanics of vertically faced masonry gravity dams, and Zola's dam was the first to be built on the basis of these principles. The era of large dams was initiated with the construction of the Aswan Low Dam in Egypt in 1902, a gravity masonry buttress dam on the Nile River . Following their 1882 invasion and occupation of Egypt ,
5829-409: The project, BRINCO was in dire financial straits whereas Quebec was flush with money, further strengthening Quebec's negotiating position. In the end BRINCO would sell 90 percent of the power to Hydro Quebec, at a fixed price, over 40 years renewable for a further 25. At the time BRINCO was praised for having built the station with no public money from Newfoundland, while Hydro-Québec assumed nearly all
5916-414: The project. In the planning stage, however, it became apparent that greater efficiency in the production of electricity could be achieved by diverting the flow of water from the Ossokmanuan Reservoir into the Smallwood Reservoir. Utilizing this water at the Churchill Falls plant enabled approximately three times as much electricity to be produced from the same volume of water. In July 1974 the Twin Falls plant
6003-476: The purpose of exploiting Labrador's resources. In 1958, it created a subsidiary, the Hamilton Falls (Labrador) Corporation Limited to develop the hydroelectric project. Through this subsidiary BRINCO obtained a 99 year monopoly on the sale of Labrador hydro power. BRINCO could not get funding for the generating station without a guaranteed market for its power. In 1963 Quebec nationalized all of its hydro-electric facilities, and proposed to Newfoundland that it do
6090-434: The same with the Hamilton Falls project, which Premier Joey Smallwood refused. BRINCO explored alternatives to sending the electricity to neighbouring Quebec, including sending it to New Brunswick and asking for federal intervention. This proposal was known as the Anglo-Saxon route [ fr ] . But the only practical solution was to negotiate an agreement with Quebec. By 1969, after 16 years of attempts to finance
6177-480: The site was the river's drop of more than 300 metres in less than 32 km, and steady supply of water. These findings were confirmed in a 1947 survey, but development did not proceed due to the remoteness of the site and the distance from markets for the power. In 1954 the region was opened up by the completion of the Quebec North Shore and Labrador Railway which runs north from Sept-Îles, Quebec 575 km north through Labrador to Schefferville, Quebec . In 1963
6264-487: The state of New Mexico defines a jurisdictional dam as 25 feet or greater in height and storing more than 15 acre-feet or a dam that stores 50 acre-feet or greater and is six feet or more in height (section 72-5-32 NMSA), suggesting that dams that do not meet these requirements are non-jurisdictional. Most US dams, 2.41 million of a total of 2.5 million dams, are not under the jurisdiction of any public agency (i.e., they are non-jurisdictional), nor are they listed on
6351-422: The total to 72,000 km (28,000 sq mi). Studies showed this drainage area collected 410 mm (16 in) of rainfall plus 391 cm (154 in) of snowfall annually equalling 12.5 cu mi (52 km) of water per year; more than enough to meet the project's needs. Total natural drop of the water starting at Ashuanipi Lake and ending at Lake Melville is 1,735 ft (529 m). As
6438-594: The traditions and livelihoods of the Innu people. A 2016 study commissioned by the Nunatsiavut Government (government of the Labrador Inuit) concluded that the flooding produced methylmercury and could contaminate the local water, food sources, and health of the Innu in the region. These negative impacts infringe on the aboriginal rights and treaty rights of the Innu people. In February 2010,
6525-406: The water level and to prevent the sea from entering the marshlands. Such dams often marked the beginning of a town or city because it was easy to cross the river at such a place, and often influenced Dutch place names. The present Dutch capital, Amsterdam (old name Amstelredam ), started with a dam on the river Amstel in the late 12th century, and Rotterdam began with a dam on the river Rotte ,
6612-642: The water load, and are often used to control and stabilize water flow for irrigation systems. An example of this type of dam is the now-decommissioned Red Bluff Diversion Dam on the Sacramento River near Red Bluff, California . Barrages that are built at the mouths of rivers or lagoons to prevent tidal incursions or use the tidal flow for tidal power are known as tidal barrages . Embankment dams are made of compacted earth, and are of two main types: rock-fill and earth-fill. Like concrete gravity dams, embankment dams rely on their weight to hold back
6699-581: The world is the 305 m-high (1,001 ft) Jinping-I Dam in China . As with large dams, small dams have multiple uses, such as, but not limited to, hydropower production, flood protection, and water storage. Small dams can be particularly useful on farms to capture runoff for later use, for example, during the dry season. Small scale dams have the potential to generate benefits without displacing people as well, and small, decentralised hydroelectric dams can aid rural development in developing countries. In
6786-548: Was 102 m (335 ft) long at its base and 87 m (285 ft) wide. The structure was built around 2800 or 2600 BC as a diversion dam for flood control, but was destroyed by heavy rain during construction or shortly afterwards. During the Twelfth Dynasty in the 19th century BC, the Pharaohs Senosert III, Amenemhat III , and Amenemhat IV dug a canal 16 km (9.9 mi) long linking
6873-715: Was an engineering wonder, and Eflatun Pinar, a Hittite dam and spring temple in Turkey, dates to the 15th and 13th centuries BC. The Kallanai Dam in South India, built in the 2nd century AD, is one of the oldest water regulating structures still in use. Roman engineers built dams with advanced techniques and materials, such as hydraulic mortar and Roman concrete, which allowed for larger structures. They introduced reservoir dams, arch-gravity dams, arch dams, buttress dams, and multiple arch buttress dams. In Iran, bridge dams were used for hydropower and water-raising mechanisms. During
6960-560: Was built. The system included 16 reservoirs, dams and various channels for collecting water and storing it. One of the engineering wonders of the ancient world was the Great Dam of Marib in Yemen . Initiated sometime between 1750 and 1700 BC, it was made of packed earth – triangular in cross-section, 580 m (1,900 ft) in length and originally 4 m (13 ft) high – running between two groups of rocks on either side, to which it
7047-642: Was closed and the water diverted into the Smallwood Reservoir under an agreement with CFLCo. The drainage area for the Churchill River includes much of western and central Labrador. Ossokmanuan Reservoir, originally developed as part of the Twin Falls Power System also drains into this system. Churchill River 's natural drainage area covers over 60,000 km (23,000 sq mi). Dyking Orma and Sail lakes brought
7134-488: Was linked by substantial stonework. Repairs were carried out during various periods, most importantly around 750 BC, and 250 years later the dam height was increased to 7 m (23 ft). After the end of the Kingdom of Saba , the dam fell under the control of the Ḥimyarites (c. 115 BC) who undertook further improvements, creating a structure 14 m (46 ft) high, with five spillways, two masonry-reinforced sluices,
7221-682: Was originally formed in 1958 as a subsidiary of British Newfoundland Development Corporation (BRINCO) and known as the Hamilton Falls Power Corporation, it built and operated the Churchill Falls hydroelectric complex. In 1961, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador granted the Hamilton Falls Power Corporation a 99-year lease to the 67,340 square kilometers watershed of the Upper Churchill. The Hamilton Falls Power Corporation became known as
7308-404: Was possibly the world's first concrete arch dam. Designed by Henry Charles Stanley in 1880 with an overflow spillway and a special water outlet, it was eventually heightened to 10 m (33 ft). In the latter half of the nineteenth century, significant advances in the scientific theory of masonry dam design were made. This transformed dam design from an art based on empirical methodology to
7395-461: Was the first French arch dam of the industrial era , and it was built by François Zola in the municipality of Aix-en-Provence to improve the supply of water after the 1832 cholera outbreak devastated the area. After royal approval was granted in 1844, the dam was constructed over the following decade. Its construction was carried out on the basis of the mathematical results of scientific stress analysis. The 75-miles dam near Warwick , Australia,
7482-682: Was the largest masonry dam in the world. The Hoover Dam is a massive concrete arch-gravity dam , constructed in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River , on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression . In 1928, Congress authorized the project to build a dam that would control floods, provide irrigation water and produce hydroelectric power . The winning bid to build
7569-429: Was undertaken in the absence of any agreement with the Innu people , but has resulted in significant damage to their traditional territory. The plant caused flooding of over 5,000 km (1,900 sq mi), which damaged the habitats of many animals, disrupted caribou migratory routes, and drowned wildlife such as beavers. Furthermore, Innu burial sites and hunting grounds were destroyed, causing irreparable damage to
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