Morony Dam
Morony Dam | |
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Morony Dam is a hydroelectric gravity dam located on the Missouri River in Cascade County, Montana. The dam is 883 feet (269 m) long and 94 feet (29 m) high,[1] and generates 49 megawatts (MW) of power.[4]
Overview
The dam is named after John G. Morony,[5] a banker, director of the Amalgamated Copper Company (a forerunner of the Anaconda Copper Company), and director of the Montana Power Company. (Morony was largely responsible for constructing Ryan Dam.)[6] Morony Dam was built by the Phoenix Utility Company.[7] Montana Power commissioned the dam in order to provide additional power to the Anaconda Copper's zinc refinery at nearby Great Falls, Montana.[7] Construction began in 1928, and the dam was completed in 1930.[7]
Morony Dam has a 390-foot (120 m) wide spillway.[8] Nine tainter gates and one sluice gate control the flow over water down the spillway.[8] The headrace (or water inlet) for the powerhouse and the powerhouse itself are on the north side of the dam.[8] The powerhouse, a portio of which is open to the elements, has two vertical Francis turbines.[8] The dam originally generated 48 megawatts of power.[5]
Big Eddy
Just below Morony Dam is a well-known hydrologic feature of the Missouri River known as the "Big Eddy."
The Big Eddy is well known by local boaters.[10] Between 1970 and 2010, several people drowned there after being caught unawares by the feature.[10] In 2010, a man and his son were jetboating in the area and barely avoided drowning after the Big Eddy sucked their machine underwater.[10]
Footnotes
- ^ a b c Emerling, p. 296.
- ^ Ellinghausen, Judy. "Water Falls of the Missouri." Destination Great Falls. Summer 2010, p. 11.
- ^ "Morony". Carbon Monitoring for Action. Retrieved 2018-04-26.
- ^ "Hydropower".
- ^ a b Peterson, p. 74.
- ^ "Great Dam Is Now Complete." Steam Shovel and Dredge. September 1919, p. 788.
- ^ a b c Aarstad, et al., p. 182.
- ^ a b c d PPL Montana, Form S-4, p. A-24.
- ^ a b Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail. Comprehensive Plan for Management and Use. National Park Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. January 1982. Accessed 2011-09-30.
- ^ a b c Babcock, Michael. "'Big Eddy' Swallows Brand New Jet Boat." Great Falls Tribune. June 18, 2010.
Bibliography
- Aarstad, Rich; Arguimbau, Ellen; Baumler, Ellen; Porsild, Charlene L.; and Shovers, Brian. Montana Place Names From Alzada to Zortman. Helena, Mont.: Montana Historical Society Press, 2009.
- Emmerling, Clifford L. "Montana Power Company's Dam Repair Program." Journal of the Construction Division, ASCE. Vol. 98, No. C02, Proc. Paper 9208. September 1972: 295-311.
- Peterson, Don. Great Falls. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia Publishing, 2010.
- PPL Montana, LLC. Form S-4. Registration Statement Under the Securities Act of 1933. EIN 54-1928759. November 21, 2000.
External links
- Morony Dam on the PPL Montana Web page
- Historic American Engineering Record(HAER) documentation, filed under Great Falls, Cascade County, MT:
- HAER No. MT-135, "Morony Hydroelectric Facility", 11 data pages
- HAER No. MT-135-A, "Morony Hydroelectric Facility, Morony-to-Rainbow 100 kV Transmission Line", 10 photos, 10 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
- HAER No. MT-135-B, "Morony Hydroelectric Facility, Dam and Powerhouse", 15 photos, 9 data pages, 2 photo caption pages