The Pittock Dam is a dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 in Woodstock

Woodstock, Ontario

Woodstock is a city and the county seat of Oxford County in Southern Ontario, Canada. Woodstock is located 128 km southwest of Toronto, north of Highway 401 along the historic Thames River...

, Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

. It lies on the south branch of the Thames River (Ontario)

Thames River (Ontario)

The Thames River is located in southwestern Ontario, Canada.The Thames flows west through southwestern Ontario, through the cities of Woodstock, London and Chatham to Lighthouse Cove on Lake St. Clair...

, and creates the Pittock Reservoir. This artificial lake

Reservoir

A reservoir , artificial lake or dam is used to store water.Reservoirs may be created in river valleys by the construction of a dam or may be built by excavation in the ground or by conventional construction techniques such as brickwork or cast concrete.The term reservoir may also be used to...

 forms the northeast boundary of the City of Woodstock.

The dam is designed for both flood control

Flood control

In communications, flood control is a feature of many communication protocols designed to prevent overwhelming of a destination receiver. Such controls can be implemented either in software or in hardware, and will often request that the message be resent after the receiver has finished...

 and flow augmentation purposes. It is designed to benefit water quality downstream during dry summer conditions and provide year round flood control capability to protect downstream communities.
Construction was started on the dam in 1964 and officially completed in 1967. The cost of the dam and land base at that time was close to $6 million. Present annual maintenance costs are about $40,000.
The Pittock Conservation Area consists of a narrow strip of land bordering either side of the reservoir.

See also

• List of reservoirs and dams in Canada
• Upper Thames River Conservation Authority
  Upper Thames River Conservation Authority
  The Upper Thames River Conservation Authority is a body based in London, Ontario, Canada. It was created in 1947. It was responsible for the construction of the Fanshawe Dam, completed in the 1950s, to control flooding from the Thames River, which runs through London. During the last ice age, the...
  
  
• Wildwood Dam
  Wildwood Dam
  Wildwood Dam is a dam located on Trout Creek, upstream of the Town of St. Marys, Ontario.Wildwood Dam is designed for flood control and flow augmentation purposes....
  
   (Thames River, St Marys, Ontario)
• Fanshawe Dam
  Fanshawe Dam
  Fanshawe Dam is a dam located on the eastern edge of London, Ontario. The crest of the dam is 625 metres long. It is 30.5 metres in height and drops the river surface 12 metres...
  
   (Thames River, London, Ontario
  London, Ontario
  London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
  
  )