Thursday, September 26, 2024

Lesterville, MO: 450mw Taum Sauk Pumped Water Storage

Upper Reservoir: (Satellite)
Power House: (Satellite)
Lower Reservoir: (Satellite)
Lower Pool Dam: (Satellite)

STL From Above posted three photos with the comment: "Perched atop Proffit Mountain, the Taum Sauk Upper Reservoir holds 1.5 billion gallons of water and is a key component of the Ameren hydroelectric plant. Water is pumped from Lower Taum Sauk Lake, up into the reservoir at night when electricity demand is low. The water flows through the generators during the day creating up to 450 megawatts of electricity. In December 2005, the reservoir suffered a catastrophic breach when a section of the dam failed, releasing over a billion gallons of water down the mountainside. The flood damaged Johnson’s Shut-Ins State Park and displaced local families, though fortunately, no lives were lost. After the incident, the reservoir was completely rebuilt with improved safety features and reopened in 2010. Today, it continues to generate electricity during peak demand."
Mike Tucker: So lucky that it happened in December when nobody was camping. I hate to imagine if this had occurred in the summer.
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