April 27, 1978 - Flood Gates Open

The Hartwell Sun - April 27, 1978

WATER DISPLAY DRAWS CROWD DURING TEST

Hundreds of people gathered for the opening of the flood gates at Hartwell Dam last Thursday.

The crowds gathered in the parking lot at the dam, along the river and some were on the bridge. Many cars were parked along U.S. 29, the road leading to the dam, and a picnic area.

Photographers snapped pictures and the people ranging from youngsters to elderly watched the dramatic display of water spilling over the dam when the flood gates were opened.

Dan Caldwell, powerhouse superintendent, said he was surprised to the see the response to the semi-annual operation to check the flood gates.

“Opening the flood gates is necessary to insure that these gates function properly should the need arise to spill flood water,” he said. The last time that the flood gates were opened for the release of flood water was in August, 1965, he said.

The twelve 40 by 35-foot flood gates were raised one foot and the operations test lasted 10 minutes.

During the test 4,172,400 gallons of water per minute were released through the flood gates for a total of 47,124,000 gallons of water, Coldwell said.

If the water had been routed through the turbines, he said it would have generated 24,000 kilowatt hours of electricity.

No estimate of the total number of the crowd was available, but the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Hart County Sheriff’s Department guided traffic at the dam.