Mansfield Dam

Mansfield Dam
	location
Coordinates	30 ° 23 '31 " N , 97 ° 54' 25" W Coordinates: 30 ° 23 '31 " N , 97 ° 54' 25" W.
country	United States
place	Travis County , Texas
Waters	Colorado River
Height upstream	207.7 m
	power plant
owner	LCRA
operator	LCRA
construction time	1937 to 1942
Start of operation	1941
	technology
Bottleneck performance	108 megawatts
Expansion flow	209.5 m³ / s
Standard work capacity	149 million kWh / year
	Others

The dam Mansfield ( English Mansfield Dam , originally called Marshall Ford Dam referred later to Congressman Joseph J. Mansfield renamed) is a dam with hydroelectric plant in Travis County , State of Texas , USA . It dams the Colorado River to a reservoir (English Lake Travis ). The city of Austin is approximately 13 miles southeast of the dam.

The dam was built primarily for the flood protection of the city of Austin; In addition, it is also used to generate electricity and supply drinking water. Its construction began in March 1937. It was completed in May 1942. The dam was built by the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) and the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR); it is owned and operated by LCRA.

Barrier structure

The barrier consists of a concrete gravity dam with a height of 84.7 m (278 ft ) and an earth embankment dam with a height of up to 30.5 m (100 ft), which is connected to it on the left side of the dam. The top of the wall is 228.6 m (750 ft) above sea level . The length of the top of the wall is 738.5 m (2423 ft); the length of the entire barrier structure is 2160 m (7089 ft). The volume of the concrete used is 1.37 million m³ (1.8 million cubic yards ).

The dam has both flood relief at the top of the wall and 24 flood gates that lead through the dam. 148.7 m³ / s (5250 cft / s) can be discharged through each of the flood gates .

Reservoir

With the normal reservoir target of 207.7 m ( conservation pool elevation : 681.6 ft), the reservoir extends over an area of around 78.09 km² (19,297 acres ) and holds 1.4 billion m³ (1.134 million acres) -feet ) water. With a maximum storage target of 217.8 m ( flood pool elevation : 714.6 ft), the reservoir extends over an area of around 118 km² (29,160 acres) and has a capacity of 2.37 billion m³ (1.921 million acre feet) ) Water. The impoundment began in September 1940.

power plant

The power plant ( Marshall Ford Hydroelectric Powerplant ) is located at the foot of the dam. The installed capacity is 102.5 (or 108 or 110) MW ; it was originally 67.5 MW. Annual production fluctuates: in 2000 it was around 83 million kWh and in 2005 around 219 million kWh. The average annual production between 1943 and 1967 was 149.4 million kWh.

The first machine in the power plant went into operation on January 27, 1941. Each of the three original Francis turbines was designed for an output of 22.5 MW (maximum 29 MW). The nominal speed of the turbines was 144 / min. The nominal voltage of the generators manufactured by GE was 13.8 kV . The height of fall was 56.7 m (186 ft) with a storage target of 207.6 m (681.1 ft).

In 1999 a performance upgrade was carried out. The new machines each have a maximum of 34 MVA . The maximum flow is 209.5 m³ / s (7400 cft / s) for all three turbines combined.

history

The construction of a dam for generating electricity near the city of Austin was first proposed in 1888. The city of Austin built the Austin Dam in 1893 for the purpose of generating electricity; this dam was destroyed in 1900 during a flood. Recurring floods caused great damage in the city between 1900 and 1923. Public demands to build a dam to protect the city of Austin from flooding grew stronger in the 1920s.

In November 1934, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) was established. After part of the necessary funds for the construction of new and the expansion of existing dams on the Colorado River had been approved, a first contract for the future Marshall Ford Dam was awarded to a construction company on December 7, 1936 . Construction supervision was entrusted to the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). Although the project was not officially approved by the Rivers and Harbors Act until August 26, 1937 , preparatory work on the site had already begun in February 1937. On February 19, 1937, the groundbreaking ceremony was carried out by the then US Secretary of the Interior, Harold L. Ickes , and one month later, on March 19, work began on the foundation work. The first concrete block for the dam was poured on October 30th.

In a first step, the dam was to be built as a low dam with a height of 58 m (190 ft); at a later point in time, the dam wall should be extended to a high dam with a height of 80.7 m (265 ft). On July 23, 1938, there was another severe flood, which reduced resistance to the high dam ; the original contract between the federal government and the LCRA was not amended until August 1939 to include the plans for the high dam . The machine hall of the power plant was completed on December 5, 1940. In the first half of 1941 the machines of the power plant were installed; the third generator was put into operation on June 13, 1941. The last concrete work on the dam was carried out in December 1941 and the work was completed in May 1942.

On February 21, 1941, the dam was named after Congressman Joseph J. Mansfield .

Web links

Commons : Mansfield Dam - Collection of images, videos and audio files

An incredible view of an open Mansfield Dam. YouTube , October 18, 2018, accessed June 19, 2019 .

Individual evidence

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Lake Travis (Colorado River Basin). Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), accessed June 19, 2019 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e MAJOR HYDROELECTRIC POWERPLANTS IN TEXAS Historical and Descriptive Information. (PDF) TWDB, August 1, 1968, pp. 62–65 , accessed on June 19, 2019 (English).
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Highland Lakes and Dams. Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), accessed June 19, 2019 .
↑ ^a ^b An Uplifting Experience. www.hydroworld.com, September 16, 2015, accessed June 19, 2019 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Colorado River Project. (PDF) United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), January 1, 2000, pp. 2–3,5,7–16 , accessed on June 19, 2019 .
↑ ^a ^b ^c Mansfield Dam Floodgate Rehabilitation Project. LCRA, accessed June 19, 2019 .
^ ^A ^b Marshall Ford Hydro Power Plant TX USA. Global Energy Observatory, accessed June 19, 2019 .
↑ ^a ^b Controlling Condensation in a Generator Cooling System. www.hydroworld.com, March 1, 2007, accessed June 19, 2019 .

[twdb1-1] Lake Travis (Colorado River Basin). Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), accessed June 19, 2019 .

[twdb2-2] MAJOR HYDROELECTRIC POWERPLANTS IN TEXAS Historical and Descriptive Information. (PDF) TWDB, August 1, 1968, pp. 62–65 , accessed on June 19, 2019 (English).

[lcra1-3] Highland Lakes and Dams. Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA), accessed June 19, 2019 .

[hy1-4] An Uplifting Experience. www.hydroworld.com, September 16, 2015, accessed June 19, 2019 .

[usbr1-5] Colorado River Project. (PDF) United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), January 1, 2000, pp. 2–3,5,7–16 , accessed on June 19, 2019 .

[lcra2-6] Mansfield Dam Floodgate Rehabilitation Project. LCRA, accessed June 19, 2019 .

[geo-7] A ^b Marshall Ford Hydro Power Plant TX USA. Global Energy Observatory, accessed June 19, 2019 .

[hy2-8] Controlling Condensation in a Generator Cooling System. www.hydroworld.com, March 1, 2007, accessed June 19, 2019 .