Hoover Dam Research

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Hoover Dam

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Purpose

Irrigation

Before the dam was b"ilt, the so"thwest had several areas where farming was im)ossible d"eto the lack of water. he !m)erial Canal )ro2ect, beg"n in #$**, took water from the Colorado

so"th towards the 5e3ican border and showed that irrigation made settlement )ossible. By

#$*+, abo"t &>,*** acres of land co"ld be c"ltivated d"e to the canal;s irrigation, allowing the

towns of Cale3ico, !m)erial and 5e3icali to be established. !n all, abo"t #0,*** )eo)le lived

on the irrigated land. oday, the dam irrigates more than one million acres in the United

States and a f"rther half million acres in 5e3ico, enabling those areas to )rod"ce fr"it, cotton

and grain.

Water Supply

he a"thorities also ho)ed the dam co"ld )rovide a more reliable s"))ly of water for towns

and cities than had been )ossible before its constr"ction. he res"ltant water enabled the

develo)ment of 6as :egas and other )lanned comm"nities in so"thern Nevada, incl"ding

'reen :alley and S"mmerlin. oday the dam )rovides water for comm"nities in Nevada,

California and Ariona, incl"ding 6os Angeles, hoeni3 and San (iego, s"))orting an

estimated #1 million )eo)le.

Flood Control

(amming the Colorado removed the danger of flooding from the area below the dam. !n the

early years of the 0*th cent"ry, flooding was a reg"lar haard for local farmers and flooding

in the !m)erial :alley between #$*% and #$*> led to e3tensive cro) losses, disastro"s for

individ"al farmers and for the local comm"nity. ?ith the dam in )lace, a"thorities co"ld

control the flow of the river downstream and )revent floods.

Hydroelectric Power

/ydroelectric )ower was not )art of the original )lan for the dam b"t between #$%$ and #$8$

a )ower )lant was inserted into the str"ct"re. ?hen it was installed, the )lant was the largest

of its kind in the world. he design feat"res #> t"rbines located at the base of the dam,

generating more than 8 billion kilowatt ho"rs ann"ally. he ma2ority of this energy -- +&

 )ercent -- goes to c"stomers in so"thern California, with 0+ )ercent going to Nevada.

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Lay out and Location

/oover (am is located in Clark Co"nty, Nevada @5ohave Co"nty, Ariona, U.S.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_County,_Nevadahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohave_County,_Arizonahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clark_County,_Nevadahttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohave_County,_Arizona

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Dimension

Structural Height >0&.8 ft

Hydraulic Height !ormal"perating Depth at Dam#

+>& ft

$op Parapet %levation# #0%&.* ft

Spillway Crest %levation #0*+.8 ft

Crest %levation #0%0.* ft

Crest Length #,088 ft

Crest Width 8+ ft

Base Width &&* ft

&olume o' DamConstruction (aterials

8,8**,*** c"-yds

Stream)ed at Dam *+is &8* ft

$op o' %+clusive Flood

Control Pool %levation##00$ ft

$op o' oint -se Pool

%levation##0#$.&

$op o' Inactive

Conservation Pool

%levation#

#*+* ft

$op o' Dead Storage Pool

%levation#1$+ ft

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Component o' Dam

/oover (am Body

Constr"ction of the dam took 

%.0 million c"bic yards of

concrete. he concrete was

 )o"red as &*-foot s4"are

interlocking blocks with +01

feet of # inch steel )i)e

r"nning thro"gh the 0#+concrete blocks. he dam is

&&* feet wide at the base and

>0& feet high.

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(iversion "nnels

o"r diversion t"nnels, two

on each side of the dam,

were b"ilt to divert theColorado River aro"nd the

dam constr"ction. otaling %

miles long, today these

t"nnels are )artially )l"gged

and connect the intake

towers in the reservoir to the

/oover ower)lant and to

the canyon wall o"tlets.

Inta.e $owers

he fo"r intake towers rise

above the lake and dam.

5ade of reinforced

concrete, the towers are %$+

feet tall and &% feet wide at

the to). Attached to the to)

of the dam by walkways,

there are two towers on each")stream side of the dam.

'ates in the towers control

the flow of water into the

 )enstocks.

Penstoc.s

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hirty-foot wide steel )i)es

called )enstocks direct

water from the intake

towers to the dam;s )ower

 )lant. he h"ge )enstockstrans)ort $*,*** gallons of

water )er second down to

the )ower )lant. he energy

created by the water

descending from the

s"rface and )assing thro"gh

t"rbines located toward the

 bottom of the dam creates

hydroelectric )ower.

Hoover Powerplant

6ocated in the U-sha)ed concrete

str"ct"re at the base of the dam, the

/oover ower)lant )rod"ces

electricity for Ariona 7#$ )ercent9,

 Nevada 70% )ercent9 and California7+1 )ercent9. According to the

B"rea" of Reclamation, this )ower

 )lant )rod"ces an average of 8

 billion kilowatt ho"rs ann"ally. his

e4"als eno"gh )ower for #.% million

 )eo)le each year. he concrete

ho"sing is &+* feet long and 0$$

feet tall.

/enerators

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"rbines, which are giant wheels

with blades, are )art of the )ower

 )lant;s #> massive generators.

?ater moving thro"gh the t"rbines

t"rns an attached shaft.

lectromagnets are attached to theshaft and, in t"rn, these are

s"rro"nded by co))er coils. As the

shafts and magnets s)in, this

dis)laces electrons in the co))er

coils th"s )rod"cing electricity. As

the water flows )ast the t"rbines it

is discharged back into the river.

Spillways and "utlets

Attached on either side of /oover

(am near the to) are s)illways.

5ore than &+* feet long and #>*

feet wide and lined with concrete,

the s)illways f"nction to divert

water aro"nd the dam, es)ecially

when the lake level is high. =ther

o"tlet )i)es divert water from the

 base of the )enstocks away from

the )ower )lant.

0e'erence

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