LAKE ROOSEVELT
The Grand Coulee Dam and the Columbia Basin Reclamation Project
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Section II.
CONSTRUCTION OF THE GRAND COULEE DAM
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The finished dam will tower 300 feet above this massive base for
the east powerhouse, now almost completely submerged in the tailbay
into which nine huge turbines will some day discharge spent water
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Heavily ribbed semisteel conduits line the entrances to outlet
tunnels, the first flared out in a mathematical curve to prevent
erosion. Two mammoth valves will control the flow of water
in each tunnel
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Blocks are interlocked with vertical keys along transverse joints
and with horizontal keys at longitudinal joints. Grout later fills
and seals openings formed at such joints when blocks are cooled
and shrunk
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Heavy steel trashracks, supported on reinforced concrete frames
on the upstream face of the dam, will protect outlet tunnels from
debris. Similar and larger racks will cover the entrances to
penstocks
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grand_coulee_dam/sec2d.htm
Last Updated: 01-Feb-2008
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