Oglala Dam
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Oglala Dam (National ID # SD00969) is a dam in Oglala Lakota County, South Dakota, within the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/48/Men_working_on_the_Oglala_Dam_project_-_NARA_-_285457.jpg/250px-Men_working_on_the_Oglala_Dam_project_-_NARA_-_285457.jpg)
The earthen dam was constructed between 1938 and 1941 by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs using labor of the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Public Works Administration.[1] The structure has a height of 80 feet and a length of 2600 feet at its crest.[2] It impounds White Clay Creek for irrigation storage. The dam is owned and operated by the Oglala Sioux Tribe.
The reservoir it creates, Oglala Lake, has a normal water surface of 643 acres and has a maximum capacity of 18,300 acre-feet.[2] As a development project, even after significant government subsidies, the dam has been "a dismal failure from the year of its construction."[1]
The Oglala Sioux Tribe website reports 3 to 4 "seasonal openings each year." The Safety of Dams Program monitors the Dam's water levels and flows for early detection of major dam breach/breaks or severe flood emergencies."[3]
The dam and lake are just south of Oglala, South Dakota, near U.S. Route 18.
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See also
External links
- Oglala Lakota Sioux Tribe Archived 2021-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
References
- ^ a b Raymond J. De Mallie, "Pine Ridge Economy: Historical and Cultural Perspectives," collected in American Indian Economic Development, edited by Sam Stanley, page 281
- ^ a b Oglala Dam
- ^ "Tribal Programs Safety of Dams". Oglala Sioux Tribe. Retrieved 2012-10-07.