Conconully Dam

Conconully Dam (National ID # WA00259) is a dam in Okanogan County, Washington, United States.

Aerial view of dam and reservoir
the town of Conconully from the north, with the Conconully Lake and the 1921 Salmon Lake Dam to the east (left), and Conconully Reservoir to the south

The earthen dam was initially constructed at a height of 70 feet (21 m) in 1910 and 1911 by the United States Bureau of Reclamation, during the first generation of the Bureau's activity, then raised in 1920 and reconstructed in 1969. The dam's current height is 72 feet and it is 1,075 feet (328 m) long at its crest.[1]

Conconully Dam impounds Salmon Creek for flood control and irrigation storage, part of the larger Okanogan Project.[2] It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on September 6, 1974. The adjacent 1921 Salmon Lake Dam and its reservoir, Conconully Lake, are also part of the same project. Both are owned by the Bureau and operated by the local Okanogan Irrigation District.

The Conconully Reservoir has a normal water surface area of 550 acres and a maximum storage capacity of 13,000 acre-feet.[3] Recreation includes fishing (for rainbow trout, cutthroat trout and smallmouth bass), boating, camping, hiking and wildlife viewing.[4] Conconully State Park and Conconully National Wildlife Refuge are also nearby.

History

The construction of the dam was interrupted by a strike in July 1909. The construction workers were offered a twenty-five cent per day pay increase but demanded fifty cents. Notice of the strike was published in the Industrial Worker, a weekly newspaper of the Industrial Workers of the World published out of Spokane.[5][6]

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-09-21. Retrieved 2012-08-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-09-20. Retrieved 2012-08-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. http://findlakes.com/main.php?conconully
  4. http://www.recreation.gov/recAreaDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&recAreaId=1213&agencyCode=129
  5. Janders, Oliver. "IWW Yearbook 1909". IWW History Project. University of Washington. Archived from the original on 5 November 2015. Retrieved 18 April 2016.
  6. Kinnon, D. M. (26 July 1909). "Strike on Government Job". Industrial Worker. 1 (21) (published 5 August 1909). p. 1. I write to inform you that all the men, except carpenters, went out on strike at the government dam here yesterday at 12 o'clock: We demanded a raise of 50 cents a day all around. The superintendent offered an increase 25 cents a day to the pit men of one [illegible] which was refused. All men are firm in their stand for the 50-cent raise. We expect to get the decision of the headquarters men by tomorrow. will let you know later developments. Yours truly. D. M. KINNON.

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