Deep Creek Dam

Dam in Oakland, Maryland

39°30′33″N 79°23′27″W / 39.5093°N 79.3908°W / 39.5093; -79.3908StatusOperationalConstruction began1925Opening date1928Dam and spillwaysType of damearth and rockwall damImpoundsYoughiogheny RiverPower StationOperator(s)Constellation EnergyCommission date1928TypeRun-of-the-riverTurbines2 x 20 MWeInstalled capacity40 MWe

Earth and rockwall dam in Maryland, US

The Deep Creek Dam located about 8 miles north of Oakland, Maryland, consists of an earth and rockwall dam across a tributary of the Youghiogheny River that was completed in 1925 by the Pennsylvania Electric Company. Construction of the dam created the Deep Creek Lake. The twin water turbine 20 MW hydroelectric plant, acquired by Brookfield Renewable Power, Inc., in 2005,^[1] became operational in 1928. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission licensed the dam and hydroelectric plant in 1968, but released the licensing to Maryland effective 1994.^[2] Under a 1994 agreement with the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the dam is operated to control waterflows to maintain the river temperature and dissolved oxygen levels to assist downstream fisheries with the intent of increasing the number of trout^[3] as well as to enable recreational whitewater activities (kayaking, canoeing, and commercial rafting) on the Upper Youghiogheny River into which the dam releases. The Maryland Department of the Environment water appropriations permit under which the dam operates was last renewed on September 2, 2020.^[4]

References

^ "Press release dated January 26, 2005, "Brascan Power to Acquire Two Hydroelectric Plants From Reliant in Northeast United States."". Archived from the original on July 4, 2008. Retrieved September 1, 2008.
^ Power Plant Research Program. "The History of Deep Creek". Maryland Department of Natural Resources. Archived from the original on 2001-05-14. Retrieved 2008-08-31.
^ Power Plant Research Program (February 2008). "Maryland Power Plants and the Environment: A Review of the Impacts of Power Plants and Transmission Lines on Maryland's Natural Resources". Maryland Department of Natural Resources. pp. 43, 92. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2008-08-30.
^ MARYLAND Department of the Environment. "Deep Creek Lake: Brookfield Renewable Power, GA1992S009". Maryland.gov. Retrieved 2022-06-29.