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Garrison Dam is an earth-fill embankment dam on the Missouri River in central North Dakota, U.S. Constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from 1947 to 1953, at over in length, the dam is the fifth-largest earthen dam in the world. The reservoir impounded by the dam is Lake Sakakawea, which extends to Williston and the confluence with the Yellowstone River, near the Montana border. The dam and resulting reservoir inundated approximately one-sixth (16.6%) to one-fourth (25%) of Fort Berthold Indian Reservation's land, resulting in the loss of homes, farmland, and community infrastructure for the Three Affiliated Tribes.
In order to construct the dam, the US government needed to purchase of bottomlands in the Fort Berthold Reservation that would be flooded by the creation of Lake Sakakawea. These lands were owned by the Three Affiliated Tribes, and the territory "had been their home for perhaps more than a millennium".
Threatened by confiscation under eminent domain, the tribes protested. A complete block of Garrison Dam power was denied because it would violate the 1935 Rural Electrification Act. The tribes gained remuneration, but lost 94% of their agricultural land in 1947, when they were forced to accept $5,105,625. This amount was increased to $7.5 million in 1949, but it did not fully compensate them for the loss of their important farmlands, homes, towns, and graves. They had cultivated the bottomlands and were able to be largely self-sufficient.
The final settlement legislation denied the tribes' right to use the reservoir shoreline for traditional grazing, hunting, fishing or other purposes, including irrigation development and royalty rights on all subsurface minerals within the reservoir area. About 1,700 residents were forcibly relocated, some to New Town, North Dakota at the northern end of the reservation.
Thus construction of Garrison Dam almost totally destroyed the traditional way of life for the Three Affiliated Tribes and made them much more dependent on the federal government. In addition, the size the lake, and the lack of bridges to cross it for decades, disrupted traditional relations among the peoples. It created new divisions among the segments on the reservation Construction on the $300-million dam project began in 1947, and its embankment was enclosed in April 1953. The dam was dedicated by President Eisenhower two months later. The Corps of Engineers completed earthwork in the fall of 1954.
Garrison Dam is one of six Missouri River Main stem dams operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District. The dam upstream of Garrison Dam is Fort Peck Dam (near Fort Peck, Montana). The dams downstream of Garrison Dam are: Oahe Dam (near Pierre, South Dakota), Big Bend Dam (near Fort Thompson, South Dakota), Fort Randall Dam (near Pickstown, South Dakota), and Gavins Point Dam (near Yankton, South Dakota). These six mainstem dams impound these Missouri River reservoirs with a total combined water storage capacity of approximately and approximately of water surface area.
In June 2011, in response to the 2011 Missouri River Floods, the dam was releasing more than , which greatly exceeded its previous record release of set in 1997. The first use of the emergency spillway due to flooding started on June 1, 2011, at 8:00am.
A segment of the North Country National Scenic Trail passes through the National Fish Hatchery and includes a stretch along the Missouri River shoreline where trail users are simultaneously on the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail.
Energy generation
Hydropower turbines at Garrison Dam have an electric power generating nameplate capacity of 583.3 megawatt. Capacity factor of 257 MW serves several hundred thousand customers.2,250,000 kWh / (365 days x 24 hours/day x 583.3 MW) = 44% capacity factor. 583.3 MW X 44% = 256.65 MW
Fishing & Recreation
The Garrison Dam National Fish Hatchery is the world's largest walleye and northern pike producing facility and also works to restore endangered species, such as the pallid sturgeon.
See also
External links
Categories: Dams In North Dakota, Buildings And Structures In Mclean County, North Dakota, Buildings And Structures In Mercer County, North Dakota, Dams On The Missouri River, Earth-filled Dams, Historic American Engineering Record In North Dakota, United States Army Corps Of Engineers Dams, Dams Completed In 1953, Forcibly Depopulated Communities In The United States, Mandan, Hidatsa, And Arikara Nation, 1953 Establishments In North Dakota
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