McAlpine Locks and Dam
| McAlpine Locks and Dam | |
|---|---|
McAlpine Locks and Dam prior to 2005, before the modernization project | |
| Official name | McAlpine Locks and Dam |
| Location | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Coordinates | 38°16′41″N 85°47′32″W / 38.2781°N 85.7922°W |
| Opening date | 1830 |
| Operator(s) | United States Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Ohio River |
| Power Station | |
| Operator(s) | Louisville Gas & Electric |
| Installed capacity | 110 MW |
The McAlpine Locks and Dam are a set of locks and a hydroelectric dam at the Falls of the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky. They are located at mile point 606.8, and control a 72.9-mile-long (117.3 km) navigation pool. The locks and their associated canal were the first major engineering project on the Ohio River, completed in 1830 as the 1.9-mile Louisville and Portland Canal, designed to allow shipping traffic to navigate through the Falls of the Ohio. The locks system is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
At present, the normal pool elevation is 420 feet (130 m) above sea level and the drainage area above the dam is 91,170 square miles (236,100 km2). The average daily flow at McAlpine is 118,000 cubic feet per second (3,340 m3/s). The lock chambers are located at the dam on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River and are capable of a normal lift of 37 feet (11 m) between the McAlpine pool upstream and the Cannelton pool downstream.
The hydroelectric plant is owned and operated by LG&E and KU, a subsidiary of PPL Corporation, while the locks are operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.