page_title: Potomac River basin reservoir projects
section_title: 1938 Corps of Engineers program
hierarchical_section_title: Potomac River basin reservoir projects / 1938 Corps of Engineers program
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of proposed dams in the Potomac River watershed as of February, 1945 Français&#160;: Carte des barrages proposés dans le bassin versant de la rivière Potomac en février 1945
context_page_description: The Potomac River basin reservoir projects were U.S. Army Corps of Engineers programs that sought to regulate the flow of the Potomac River to control flooding, to assure a reliable water supply for Washington, D.C., and to provide recreational opportunities. Beginning in 1921 the Corps studied a variety of proposals for an ambitious program of dam construction on the Potomac and its tributaries, which proposed as many as sixteen major dam and reservoir projects. The most ambitious proposals would have created a nearly continuous chain of reservoirs from tidewater to Cumberland, Maryland. The 1938 program was focused on flood control, on the heels of a major flood in 1936. The reformulated 1963 program focused on water supply and quality, mitigating upstream pollution from sewage and coal mine waste.
  While several projects came to fruition in one form or another, most were never pursued or were abandoned after significant public opposition. Savage River was the only project from the 1938 program to be built. The largest project was Seneca Dam on the Potomac just above Washington, D.C..
context_section_description: As a result of the catastrophic flood of 1936, Congress mandated a study by the Corps of Engineers on flood control on the Potomac. The Corps report published in 1938 proposed a series of dams on the main stem of the Potomac and on several tributaries. The reservoirs were to start at tidewater at Chain Bridge.
  Proposed dams on the Potomac included (unbuilt projects in italics):
  Chain Bridge: planned dam to impound the river beginning at tidewater, backing up to Bear Island. Built on a reduced scale in 1959 as Little Falls Dam, about 3 miles (4.8 km) above tidewater. The built version is 14 feet (4.3 m) high and functions as a weir to impound water at the Washington Aqueduct intake.
   Bear Island: proposed to create a reservoir extending from the top of the Chain Bridge pool at Bear Island to the base of Great Falls, never built
   Riverbend: proposed at the sharp bend of the Potomac immediately above Great Falls. The 119-foot (36 m) dam would have created a reservoir extending nearly to Harpers Ferry. Superseded by the Seneca Dam proposal farther upriver, also never built.
   Harpers Ferry: Proposed in the vicinity of Sandy Hook and Weverton, the reservoir would have flooded the lower part of Harpers Ferry with a pool extending past Shepherdstown. It was never built.
   Rocky Marsh: Proposed for a site near Scrabble, never built. The site would have been near the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal's Dam No. 4., which survives.
   Pinesburg Proposed for a site near Pinesburg, never built. The site would have been near the historical and present-day Dam No. 5.
   Orleans: Proposed for a site near Little Orleans, never built.
  The Shenandoah would have been dammed at two places:
   Millville: The existing small power generation dam at Millville would have been replaced with a much larger structure. Never built. The original 2.84 MW generating station continues to operate.
   Brocks Gap: Like the Riverbend/Seneca Dam project, the Brocks Gap project survived into the 1960s, when it was defeated by local opposition.
  Other reservoirs would have included:
   Edes Fort on the Cacapon River. Never built.
   Springfield on the South Branch of the Potomac. Never built.
   Royal Glen on the South Branch, proposed again in 1963. Never built.
   Patterson Creek Never built.
   Keyser on the North Branch of the Potomac. Never built.
  With the intervention of World War II none of these projects were pursued, but they were revived in 1945 as a basis for further study.
  Savage River was the only project of the 1938 program to be built as envisioned. The 184-foot (56 m) rockfill dam was completed in 1952.
caption: Dams proposed in the Potomac River basin in 1945
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