Grand Coulee Dam - Case Study Example

Grand Coulee Dam The Grand Coulee Dam is unmistakably one of the biggest dams holding out water from waterways enough to generate electricity and irrigate large tracts of land. The dam, constructed from 1933 to 1941, serves three power generation plants and avails water to irrigate the Grand Coulee region. Situated in the Columbia River Basin, the Grand Coulee Dam is 550 feet high and 5,223 feet wide. The major people located at the Columbia River Basin during the time of the project were Indians of the Spokane culture. Major materials used in the construction of the dam were concrete, excavated earth, steel, and other metals. As time went on, one of the contractors, MWAK, developed small cities to house workers and installed plants to generate materials to use in the construction the dam. Thinking of such a product today would mean a consideration of myriad factors that include budgetary allocation, risks involved, disruption to life in water, and alternative sources of energy before terming the project as feasible. Introduction The Grand Coulee Dam stands as the biggest concrete structure ever developed by human hands. It is the biggest dam in the world that is situated in the Columbia River Basin. Everything regarding the dam is on a large scale: it measures 550 feet in height, measured from its solid granite base or around 350 feet. In length, the dam measures around 5,223 feet, which is only 57 feet short of the distance of one mile. Although there are other bigger dams in the world, they do not measure to Grand Coulee as their size often comprises earthen berms. Further, the size of the dam is around four times bigger than the Egypt’s pyramids. This paper discusses the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam. Details in this discussion include Grand Coulee Dams development, location, size, methods and materials used. Timeline of the Project Settlement of the region around the Grand Coulee Dam started in 1859. Itt went on at a slow pace until the 1880s after the development of the Northern Pacific Railroad. In the 1880s, settlers got their land free of charge under an Act known as Timber Culture or for an unbelievably cheap price under an Act known as the Desert Land Act. The Columbia Basin settlers found usable land and began growing wheat, making the economy of the region to sprout. They also practiced animal farming as they had cattle ranches and practiced a bit of mining (Bottenberg 7). Various authorities noticed the potential of the region for an irrigation scheme, and they each presented their speculation regarding the project. However, plans to develop a dam in the region were not free from opposition. The main opponents of the project were Spokane private power interests comprising of the Washington Water Company as well as businesses owned by Spokane. They countered the plans and instead proposed the “gravity plan” as the most feasible method to irrigate the region, by way of a waterway from the Spokane River or the Pend Oreille River. Elbert Blaine was the first to suggest the gravity plan in 1917, and proponents followed by influencing a report by the Columbia Basin Survey Commission in 1920 that branded the dam as infeasible (Bottenberg 8). On the other hand, though, the damming project had support, and they exhibited their support in earnest in 1918. As from 1918, the public and local interests endorsed the notion of developing a dam at Grand Coulee, a region that had had a glacier block the Columbia River once. The actual construction, however, kicked off in 1933 on account of this Grand Coulee proposal. Generation of power at the dam started in 1941, and the project land received water as from 1948. The power production capacity of the dam, 6,494 megawatts, stands as the largest in the river system of Columbia, enough to power Seattle numerous times over. The area under irrigation rose slightly to measure over 500,000 acres by 1977, after the completion of the first half of the Columbia Basin Irrigation project. As from 1976 to 1979, there were additions of facilities that could be useful to the other half of the project that measured 1.1 million (Frederick 52). The dam took seven years to construct as it ended on March 22, 1941. Immediately after its completion, it started generating power. The completion of the dam during the commencement of the World War II silenced many of its opponents and critics, who had described the project as a colossal dam located in a wilderness region in a remote state. Critics also attacked the project citing that its only consumers would be jackrabbits and sagebrush (Pitzer 195). The Bureau of Reclamation promoters and patriotic newsmen, among many others, welcomed the project, Grand Coulee, as almost single-handedly victory of World War II for allies (Keller and Melnick 133–134). Figure 1: The Grand Coulee Dam Location The Grand Coulee Dam is a Columbia River based gravity dam in the United States state of Washington. The Grand Coulee is an old river bed located in the Columbia plateau that occurred as a result of the flood and retreated glaciers during the Pliocene Epoch. Initially, geologists believed that the Grand Coulee stemmed from the effects of a glacier that sidetracked the Columbia River. However, in the 20th century, geologists came to learn that floods emanating from Lake Missoula engraved most of the gorge. The oldest proposal regarding an irrigation project for the Grand Coulee region was in 1892, when Laughlin McLean had reported his intention to develop a 1,000 feet dam across the river of Columbia. Such a dam would have encroached into Canada leading to the violation of treaties. Today, the Grand Coulee Dam region is a unique combination of counties and cities, climates and lakes, geology and topography. Four small towns were stretching up to seven miles in length in the region with a sizeable population. However, there is much more to the Columbia Basin than just the Grand Coulee Dam. The area is also home to three huge lakes, a State Park, National Park Recreation Area, and the crossing counties. The northern section of the area is on the Southern section of the Colville Tribes reservation property (Hunter 1). Figure 2: The Location of the Grand Coulee Dam Developers The construction of the dam on the Columbia River was the crown charm of Roosevelt, the President of America at the time. The project was one of President Roosevelt’s construction projects in the North West. The United States Bureau of Reclamation started developing the Grand Coulee Dam in 933. The organization constructed the dam as one of its important structure in its versatile Columbia Basin Project. The project has since been the cornerstone in harnessing the Columbia River, the second largest river in America. The project went on for nine years before coming to completion, but many more years were spent in political battles before the construction started. While people were in agreement that the Columbia Basin needed an irrigation scheme, stakeholders had a hard time agreeing to the best way to offer water to the region (NPS 1). Initially, Grand Coulee was to be a small or low dam with plans to make it bigger at a later period. Mason-Walsh-Atkinson-Kier Company (MWAK) received the initial tender to develop the low dam. The company quickly set designs and began by developing Mason City, brandished as the first “all electric city” in the world. Mason City was to house workers. Engineers Town, as well as other major towns, sprang up to house the engineers at work at the Grand Coulee. Culture When the development of the Grand Coulee Dam was taking place, many Indians were living in the Columbia Basin. The term Spokane means “the sun’s children.” The Spokane Tribe consists of around 154,000 acres in the Eastern region of Washington on the River Plateau of Columbia. All except 10% of the acreage belongs to the trust of the federal government. The reservation is present in the original region owned by the Spokane, which sprawled over three million acres. The Spokane people shared myriad cultures and traits with their neighboring communities. The original tongue of the Spokane is a member of the language family of the Salish Tribe. The Spokane people are often classified as a Salishan tribe. The people shared their territory with others including the Flathead, Colville, and Kalispel tribes. The tribes of Indians had familial rights to the rich grounds for fishing salmons at the Grand Coulee’s headwaters and along the Spokane River. However, water would overflow and flood the tribal lands after the completion of the dam, forcing the natives to change their way of life (Melosi 81). In 1877, an agreement was negotiated with the Spokane people to have the Spokane people acquire a portion of their aboriginal land. President Rutherford Hayes, in 1881, gave an executive order particularly including portions of Columbia and Spokane rivers within the Indian Reservation of the Spokane. Components and Materials Lake Roosevelt provides water to the Grand Coulee Dam. A feeder canal pumps the water into an equalizing reservoir, which is Banks Lake. The reservoir lake is a result of two dams found on both sides of the Grand Coulee: the North Dam and the Dry Falls Dam situated on the upper end and outlet respectively. The major canal starts at the Dry Falls Dam. The main canal distributes the water to myriad canals. The Grand Coulee Dam, together with the Dry Falls Dam, North Dam, O’Sullivan Dams, Pinto, and connecting drains and canals, are termed as the Columbia Basin Project. The height of the dam measures 550ft and its length is 5,223 ft. It comprises of 11.97 million cubic yards equivalent of concrete. Over 12 million barrels of building cement, 77 million pounds of strengthening steel, and the contractors used ten million pounds of steel for the penstocks in developing the dam. During the construction of the dam, a 32-mile railroad offered transportation. The designers made Grand Coulee as a small dam at first because of budgetary restrictions. However, in 1934, Roosevelt gave permission for the dam to be built bigger, and now it is eight times or so the size of the low dam. The reservoir, Lake Roosevelt, built behind the dam, is 151 miles in length, offering a shoreline of 82,300 acres and 600 miles. It has the ability of preserving 9,386,000 acre-feet full of water and an altitude of 1,290ft over the sea level. The dam has as many as eleven drum gates, measuring 20ft high and 135ft long, controlling the spillway. The spillway consists of a top elevation of 1,288ft, the crest elevation of 1,260ft and a discharge capacity of around one million cubic feet per second (Bonnier 13). The Grand Coulee Dam receives water from Lake Roosevelt, which employs 12 60,000 – 70,000 hp pumps. The pumps lift the water up at the height of around 280ft, providing water to Banks Lake situated at the upper section of the Grand Coulee. The lake, measuring 27 miles, has over one million acre-ft of water. Out of that water, 715,000 acre-ft is applied for irrigation. Banks Lake supplies its water to the main canal that distributes it to three connecting canals. The canals proceed to propagate the water to myriad laterals and from there to several sections of central Washington State for purposes of irrigation. Over 2.5 million acre-ft of water goes into Banks Lake for purposes of irrigation. Columbia River receives water from rainfall and glaciers. Heavy rainfall and melting of snow at unanticipated times lead to flooding in the low placed areas, especially Portland. The reservoir, Lake Roosevelt, assists in managing the flow of water from the Columbia River, preventing floods (NPS). Methods Rails extended from Odair town to the construction site, and MWAK used special conveyor belts, instead of trucks, to ferry tons of earth and rock excavated on a daily basis. Meanwhile, engineers performed various tests at Colorado’s Reclamation experimental laboratory to help them come up with good plans for construction. Joe Simmonds states that the design was a 3,000-foot- long, with the shape of U and a steel pile chest dam; one for the east side and the other for the west side. The design also dictated that the contractors were to build the dam in two sections – east and west. Technical issues related to the plans of the dam started at a later time, leading to a decision to make the dam a high one. MWAK put up two plants to make cement, situated on either side of the dam. The plants could make 640 cubic yards of concrete per hour. As some workers excavated the bedrock of the dam, others made holes for testing measuring 30 to 200 feet. Then, several men went down the holes to inspect the quality of the bedrock. Ground holes measuring 20 to 30 feet were also made to offer a secure seal below the dam (Water Technology 1). In 1935, the engineers began concrete placement. However, as winter drew in, the air became so cold that a lot of concrete froze and the workers had to blast it away and replace it. Concrete work was stopped in January until Spring when conditions were favorable again to pick up from where the actions were stopped. There were delays every now and again because of weather problems, but work went on well at high speeds. Labor Force The engineers from MWAK and all the workers involved in the project were remarkable. The numbers during the commencement and at different times of the project varied. For three years, MWAK’s payroll read 6,000 men, without counting the Reclamation officers. The organization paid an average $800,000 in wages per month. At another point in time, almost 11,000 men worked for over 27 million hours to create a diversion for the river, dig the foundation, and lay concrete. During the entire process, forty-five of them died (Water Technology 1). When Reclamation totaled the number of those who took part in the project from 1933 to 1939, it stated that the total man hours reached 37,000,119 and compensation totaled $34,650,244. Completion The engineers from MWAK gave notification to Reclamation that they had completed the foundation of the dam prompting the signing of a new contract. Consolidated Builders Inc. was issued the rest of the contract, which was to complete the construction of the dam and develop the Left Powerhouse. As the new engineering company took over, Grand Coulee Dam stood an average of 177ft from the bedrock. Various subcontractors specialized on other tasks, such as Steel Company and Western Pipe of California. The two companies contracted with Reclamation to produce and install mammoth penstocks of the dam, which carry water across the dam to serve as turbines that generate hydroelectric power. With a diameter of 18 feet, the initial penstocks of Grand Coulee Dam were so big that the work of fabrication was to be done on-site. Contractors shipped steel weighing around 16 million pounds from the South and Midwest. Mills transported the steel packaged in rolls to fit in the tunnels and rail yards along the way (Water Technology 1). The contract for the initial three generators capable of issuing 108,000 kilowatts at Grand Coulee Dam went to Westinghouse Company at a total cost of $7.8 million. The generators were the biggest at the time. The turbines, developed by Dry Dock and Newport News Ship Building, were also the largest. The first generator started production of power on October 4, 1941, merely two months before the commencement of World War II. On December 12, MWAK announced that it had placed the last concrete for the project and Reclamation received the dam on January 1, 1942 (Water Technology 1). If It Were Constructed Today The Grand Coulee stands as one of the biggest concrete structures world over. It consists of almost 2 million cubic yards of pure concrete. If you were to have such a massive amount of concrete today, you would be able to develop a four ft wide sidewalk measuring four inches thick that can wrap the equator of the earth twice. That means the concrete used in the Grand Coulee Dam can be enough to build a 50,000 miles dam. Aside from that though, such a structure would be built entirely different if it were done in today’s highly advanced world that is full of extremely learned engineers. The design today would be tremendously intricate and profoundly simple. This is because the development of dams is not constricted in terms of construction, design, and operation. Instead, the development of dams embraces a wide array of environmental, social, and political factors on which the aspiration human’s well-being and development lie on. Today, the decision on whether to develop a dam or not would depend on a myriad of variables beyond mere technical considerations. During the time of Roosevelt, the development choice was perhaps guided by political aspirations and the views of the centralized government. This may mean that the dam may have been built without regarding a comprehensive evaluation of possible alternatives. The involvement of the public may have been limited as we all know that the original inhabitants of the Grand Coulee region were moved without proper compensation. Once the proposal to develop a dam passes the preliminary stages that involve economic and technical feasibility, the proposed project would have to undergo appraisal and project planning stages. These stages may not have significant in the 1900s as things such as the environmental and social impacts were left outside the analysis done before the commencement of the project. The role played by impact assessment in developmental projects in the 1900s was marginal and companies as well as governments did not pay special attention to the important step. The development of a dam the size of Grand Coulee would also have to undergo risk assessment if it were built today. Many people died, and I believe that many others were injured, as a result of poor risk assessment during the construction of the Grand Coulee. During that time, the groups involved may not have had a golden chance to take part in decisions. Today, the development of such a huge project as the Grand Coulee Dam would require the risk notion to be extended beyond developers and governments to include both the environment and those impacted by the project. Building a large dam today would call for capital cost assessment, which is essential for a myriad of reasons. First, dams are usually approved depending on the financial budget for the outlay. If they appear to cost more than what is expected, more funds have to be sourced. Because dams the size of Grand Coulee could cost billions, financial overruns present significant consequences for the private and public budgeting. Today, implementation teams would have to determine whether or not a particular dam project would be able to bring back returns equivalent or more than the investment put in it before giving the green light. Lastly, dam development has gone through resurgence, whilst their removal remains a core aim of social and environmental justice groups. If the Grand Coulee Dam was to be built today, it would have to pass tests showing that it can preserve habitat for fisheries, ensure a healthy flow of water, enhance water quality, and return life to sources of water including rivers. That was not a concern in the 1930s when the Grand Coulee Dams construction was initiated. In the same spirit, more than 430 dams have been rehabilitated in the United States opening up habitats for fisheries, enhancing water quality, and restoring the flow of water. Conclusion The Grand Coulee Project was a huge project that kicked off in 1933 and ended in 1941, shortly before World War II. It provided leverage to the United States in the war, but it also offered greatly needed energy, a function that it upholds to date. The analysis of the material used and the labor expended to complete the project illustrate how huge the project was. Today, developers and all parties involved in the development of dams have to consider a host of things such as social, environmental, and budgetary implications. Works Cited Bonnier. Popular Science. Bonnier Corporation, 1936. Print. Bottenberg, Ray. Grand Coulee Dam. Arcadia Publishing, 2008. Print. Frederick, Kenneth D. Scarce Water and Institutional Change. Routledge, 2013. Print. Hunter, Scott. “Location News from Washington Filmworks - Grand Coulee Dam Area.” Washington Filmworks. N.p., May 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2014. Keller, Morton, and R. Shep Melnick. Taking Stock: American Government in the Twentieth Century. Cambridge University Press, 1999. Print. Melosi, Martin V. Precious Commodity: Providing Water for America’s Cities. University of Pittsburgh Pre, 2011. Print. NPS. “Managing Water in the West.” N.p., 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2014. Pitzer, Paul C. Grand Coulee: Harnessing a Dream. Washington State University Press, 1994. Print. Water Technology. “Grand Coulee Dam, Columbia River.” Water Technology. N.p., 2014. Web. 6 Nov. 2014. Read More