Jump to content

List of dam removals in Idaho

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is a list of dams in Idaho that have been removed as physical impediments to free-flowing rivers or streams.

Completed removals

[edit]
Dam[1] Height Year removed Location Watercourse Watershed Notes
Cove Dam 26 ft (7.9 m) 2006 Grace
42°31′55″N 111°47′46″W / 42.532°N 111.796°W / 42.532; -111.796 (Cove Dam)
Bear River Bear River Hydropower dam owned by PacifiCorp.
Dip Creek Dam Ketchum
43°45′14″N 114°22′55″W / 43.754°N 114.382°W / 43.754; -114.382 (Dip Creek Dam)
Dip Creek Big Wood River
Lindernam Dam 26 ft (7.9 m) Fremont County
43°45′44″N 116°27′36″W / 43.7622°N 116.46°W / 43.7622; -116.46 (Lindernam Dam)
Milk Creek Boise River
Lewiston Dam 45 ft (14 m) 1973 Lewiston
46°26′01″N 116°57′32″W / 46.4335°N 116.959°W / 46.4335; -116.959 (Lewiston Dam)
Clearwater River Clearwater River
Grangeville Dam (Harpster Dam) 56 ft (17 m) 1963 Idaho County
45°54′32″N 116°00′29″W / 45.9089°N 116.0080°W / 45.9089; -116.0080 (Grangeville Dam)
South Fork Clearwater River This 440 ft (130 m) long arched concrete hydroelectric dam was constructed by the Washington Water Power Company in 1911. A wooden fish ladder had been installed but it collapsed in 1949. The dam was removed in the interest of fish passage and since the hydropower facilities had become obsolete. The dam was destroyed by dynamite at 6:35 PM on August 19, 1963, following two prior detonations that day which had failed to collapse the structure.[2] At the time, the dam was the largest ever to be removed, a record which stood for decades.[3]
Dutch Flat Dam 10 ft (3.0 m) 2013 Troy
46°44′34″N 116°47′06″W / 46.7428°N 116.785°W / 46.7428; -116.785 (Dutch Flat Dam)
West Fork Little Bear Creek Drinking water reservoir dam owned by the City of Troy.
Unnamed ford (Road 5440) 2009 Clearwater National Forest
46°45′48″N 115°05′13″W / 46.7633°N 115.087°W / 46.7633; -115.087 (Unnamed ford (Road 5440))
Independence Creek
Lane Dam Boundary County
48°39′48″N 116°17′49″W / 48.6632°N 116.297°W / 48.6632; -116.297 (Lane Dam)
Elkhorn Gulch Kootenai River
Timber Creek Dam 1970 Salmon–Challis National Forest
44°34′50″N 113°27′59″W / 44.5805°N 113.4665°W / 44.5805; -113.4665 (Timber Creek Dam)
Middle Fork Little Timber Creek Lemhi River
Pancheri Diversion Dam 2010 Howe
44°07′10″N 113°14′49″W / 44.1194°N 113.247°W / 44.1194; -113.247 (Pancheri Diversion Dam)
Little Lost River Little Lost River
High Plains Estates 16 ft (4.9 m) 2013 Eagle
43°46′09″N 116°27′33″W / 43.7691°N 116.4593°W / 43.7691; -116.4593 (High Plains Estates)
Tributary to Farmers Union Canal Payette River
Browns Pond - Cruzen 25 ft (7.6 m) McCall
44°54′52″N 115°58′48″W / 44.9144°N 115.9799°W / 44.9144; -115.9799 (Browns Pond - Cruzen)
Lake Fork
Malony Lake Dam 1986 Payette National Forest
44°52′31″N 115°54′09″W / 44.8753°N 115.9025°W / 44.8753; -115.9025 (Malony Lake Dam)
South Fork Lake Fork
Colburn Mill Pond Dam 12 ft (3.7 m) 1999 Sandpoint
48°24′24″N 116°31′44″W / 48.4068°N 116.529°W / 48.4068; -116.529 (Colburn Mill Pond Dam)
Colburn Creek Pend Oreille River
Red Ives Dam 5 ft (1.5 m) 2021 Shoshone County
47°03′28″N 115°20′32″W / 47.0577°N 115.3421°W / 47.0577; -115.3421 (Red Ives Dam)
Red Ives Creek Saint Joe River Dam was built to provide hydropower for a U.S. Forest Service ranger station.
Buster Lake Dam 29 ft (8.8 m) Challis
44°26′19″N 114°25′01″W / 44.4387°N 114.417°W / 44.4387; -114.417 (Buster Lake Dam)
Garden Creek Salmon River
Sunbeam Dam 1931 Sawtooth National Forest
44°16′14″N 114°44′10″W / 44.2706°N 114.7362°W / 44.2706; -114.7362 (Sunbeam Dam)
Salmon River
Kshmitter Dam 1988 Tributary to John Day Creek
Hoffman Duffy Dam 9.5 ft (2.9 m) 2014 Mountain Home
43°11′11″N 115°35′20″W / 43.1865°N 115.589°W / 43.1865; -115.589 (Hoffman Duffy Dam)
Tributary to Rattlesnake Creek Snake River Livestock pond dam.
Kunkel Dam 1994 Twin Falls
42°13′36″N 114°31′27″W / 42.2266°N 114.5241°W / 42.2266; -114.5241 (Kunkel Dam)
Soldier Creek
Watts Lake Dam Nez Perce County
43°55′40″N 111°23′09″W / 43.9277°N 111.3859°W / 43.9277; -111.3859 (Watts Lake Dam)
Hatwai Creek Teton River
Packsaddle Dam 40 ft (12 m) 1916 Tetonia
43°46′13″N 111°20′22″W / 43.7704°N 111.3394°W / 43.7704; -111.3394 (Packsaddle Dam)
North Fork Packsaddle Creek

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Rivers, American (13 February 2023). "American Rivers Dam Removal Database". Figshare. American Rivers. doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.5234068.v10. Retrieved 25 August 2023.
  2. ^ Winter, Brian D. (April 1990). "A Brief Review of Dam Removal Efforts in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and California" (PDF). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
  3. ^ McCully, Patrick (1996). "Getting Old: Dam Aging and Decommissioning". International Rivers. Zed Books. Retrieved 8 September 2023.