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- Jamestown Reservoir reaches historic first
News Release Archive
Jamestown Reservoir reaches historic first
Media Contact:
Michael R. Odle, (406) 861-2747, modle@usbr.gov
For Release: April 26, 2009
Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) officials have confirmed the first official spill through the Jamestown Reservoir spillway. This is the first time the spillway has been used since the completion of the dam in February 1954.
According to instrumentation used by Reclamation, the Reservoir level reached 1454.04 at 1 p.m. CDT. According to Reclamation, water spills when Jamestown Reservoir reaches elevation of 1,454 feet or about 221,000 acre-feet of water.
"An acre foot of water is about the size of a football field covered with one foot of water," said Reclamation spokesman Mike Odle.
The spillway is basically a giant 18 inch cement funnel. Rather than spilling over the dam, high waters spill into the funnel and are released through the spillway channel and then into the James River.
The funnel's largest diameter is 13.4 feet and narrows to about 9.6 feet. It is designed to handle a maximum of about 1.3 million gallons per minute, which occurs when the lake level rises to 10.4 feet above the level of the spillway.
In 1997, the water level at the reservoir was nine feet below the spillway approximately 1,445 feet.
Reclamation in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has reduced flows from the reservoir's controlled spillway to 1500 cfs.
The public can view the Jamestown Reservoir spillway camera online at http://csiwebs.com/NewsCam/NewsCamDam.htm or live exclusively on CSi Cable channels 10 and 68.
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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.
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