Oder Dam
Encyclopedia
The Oder Dam is a dam in the Harz mountains of Germany
. It lies above Bad Lauterberg in the district of Osterode am Harz in Lower Saxony
and impounds the river Oder
. The dam went into service in 1934 after taking 3 years to build. The owner and operator of the Oder Dam is the Harzwasserwerke
.
These functions sometimes create conflicting demands. For flood protection, the reservoir should be as empty as possible; for low water regulation, it is desirable that the reservoir is as full as possible. Accordingly there are for the water economy an operating plan that is dependent on the time of year and the expected water quantities. e.g. snow meltwaters at the end of winter, droughts in summer.
made of rubble (crushed stone) with a central concrete
core and a grout curtain
of clay
. The concrete wall has joints that follow the shape of the whole dam, without leaking. The design is very similar in many respects to the Söse Dam
built shortly beforehand.
s with a combined output of 5.04 MW (possibly as much as 6.2 MW).
The pumped-storage facility has not been used since the 1990s as it was no longer economical. The power station now operates simply as a storage power station with a Francis turbine
.
, sailing
and surfing
. There is also a local restaurant and a campsite
.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. It lies above Bad Lauterberg in the district of Osterode am Harz in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
and impounds the river Oder
Oder (Harz)
The Oder is a 56 km long river in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is a right tributary of the Rhume. Its source is in the Harz mountains, near Sankt Andreasberg. It flows southwest through Bad Lauterberg, Pöhlde and Hattorf am Harz...
. The dam went into service in 1934 after taking 3 years to build. The owner and operator of the Oder Dam is the Harzwasserwerke
Harzwasserwerke
The Harzwasserwerke is a German water company and dam operator with the primary tasks of supplying drinking water, generating electrical power, flood protection and the maintenance of the Upper Harz Water Regale...
.
Purposes
The reservoir serves the following purposes:- Flood protection
- Low water regulation
- Power generation
These functions sometimes create conflicting demands. For flood protection, the reservoir should be as empty as possible; for low water regulation, it is desirable that the reservoir is as full as possible. Accordingly there are for the water economy an operating plan that is dependent on the time of year and the expected water quantities. e.g. snow meltwaters at the end of winter, droughts in summer.
Dam
The actual barrage is an embankment damEmbankment dam
An embankment dam is a massive artificial water barrier. It is typically created by the emplacement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil, sand, clay and/or rock. It has a semi-permanent waterproof natural covering for its surface, and a dense, waterproof...
made of rubble (crushed stone) with a central concrete
Concrete
Concrete is a composite construction material, composed of cement and other cementitious materials such as fly ash and slag cement, aggregate , water and chemical admixtures.The word concrete comes from the Latin word...
core and a grout curtain
Grout curtain
Grout curtains are barriers that protect a dam from seepage and can be used in initial construction or repair. Additionally, they can be used to strengthen foundations and contain spills.-Characteristics:...
of clay
Clay
Clay is a general term including many combinations of one or more clay minerals with traces of metal oxides and organic matter. Geologic clay deposits are mostly composed of phyllosilicate minerals containing variable amounts of water trapped in the mineral structure.- Formation :Clay minerals...
. The concrete wall has joints that follow the shape of the whole dam, without leaking. The design is very similar in many respects to the Söse Dam
Söse Dam
The Söse Dam is a dam in the Lower Saxon part of the Harz mountains near Osterode in the German state of Lower Saxony.It was the first dam to be built in the Harz and was constructed by the Harzwasserwerke between 1928 and 1931. It is used for flood prevention, electricity generation, supplying...
built shortly beforehand.
Pumped storage hydro-electric power station
The reservoir of the dam originally acted as the upper reservoir of the pumped-storage power station. Immediately below the dam is the lower reservoir with a 7.5 m high earth dam that acted as a stilling basin. The power station is also located at the foot of the dam. It has 2 turbineTurbine
A turbine is a rotary engine that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work.The simplest turbines have one moving part, a rotor assembly, which is a shaft or drum with blades attached. Moving fluid acts on the blades, or the blades react to the flow, so that they move and...
s with a combined output of 5.04 MW (possibly as much as 6.2 MW).
The pumped-storage facility has not been used since the 1990s as it was no longer economical. The power station now operates simply as a storage power station with a Francis turbine
Francis turbine
The Francis turbine is a type of water turbine that was developed by James B. Francis in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is an inward-flow reaction turbine that combines radial and axial flow concepts....
.
Tourism
The lake is open to watersports such as anglingAngling
Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...
, sailing
Sailing
Sailing is the propulsion of a vehicle and the control of its movement with large foils called sails. By changing the rigging, rudder, and sometimes the keel or centre board, a sailor manages the force of the wind on the sails in order to move the boat relative to its surrounding medium and...
and surfing
Surfing
Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...
. There is also a local restaurant and a campsite
Campsite
A campsite or camping pitch is a place used for overnight stay in the outdoors. In British English a campsite is an area, usually divided into a number of pitches, where people can camp overnight using tents or camper vans or caravans; this British English use of the word is synonymous with the...
.
See also
- List of dams in the Harz
- List of reservoirs and dams in Germany
- Pumped-storage hydroelectricityPumped-storage hydroelectricityPumped-storage hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric power generation used by some power plants for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of water, pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation. Low-cost off-peak electric power is used to run the pumps...
- OderteichOderteichThe Oderteich is an historic reservoir about seven kilometres northeast of Sankt Andreasberg in the Upper Harz in central Germany. It was built by miners from St. Andreasberg in the years 1715 to 1722 and, today, is an important component of the water supply network known as the Upper Harz Water...
External links
- Oder Dam at en.structurae.de
- Harzwasserwerke.de with link to the current dam data.
- Sights in the Harz: The Oder Dam
- The Oder Dam in the Harz