Safe lives. Strong dams.

Why Build a Dam?
The Lackawanna Valley has had its share of floods. Anyone who lived here in the 1950s can tell you about Hurricane Diane. It destroyed entire neighborhoods. Congress authorized construction of Stillwater Lake, a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project, to lessen the impacts of such storms. The dam's primary purpose: reduce the risk of floods in communities such as Forest City, Simpson, and Carbondale.
How Does This Dam Work?
Think of a dam and lake as a bathtub: watertight, stable, and able to control the flow of water. Gates in the tower act like a drain that regulates the amount of water leaving the lake through a tunnel. Dam operators restrict the flow of water through the dam by adjusting gates during flood events and then release it gradually when downstream water levels recede. The concrete spillway acts like an overflow drain. It prevents damage to the earth fill dam by allowing excess water to flow around it in times of extreme flooding.
What Does This Mean to You?
Floods are a natural occurrence and remain a constant threat. In 1993, melting snow and rain fall produced one of the highest pools ever at Stillwater Lake. As the dam held back waters and reduced flooding downstream, it demonstrated how well the project performed its primary mission of flood risk



management. Since the dam's completion in 1960, it continues to protect the lives and homes of people in the region and save millions of dollars in flood damages to downstream communities.
Just the Facts: The dam is 77 feet tall - almost as tall as the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC.

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