page_title: Eklutna Dam
section_title: Design
hierarchical_section_title: Eklutna Dam / Design
caption_attribution_description: Main generator deck inside the Eklutna power plant.
context_page_description: The Eklutna Dam, also referred to as the New Eklutna Dam or Upper Eklutna Dam, is an embankment dam on the Eklutna River about 30 mi northeast of Anchorage in Alaska, United States. The primary purpose of the dam is hydroelectric power generation and it supports a 47 MW power plant. It was first completed in 1929 but was rehabilitated or rebuilt on several occasions over its history. Ownership of the dam and power plant is shared by Anchorage Municipal Light & Power, Chugach Electric and Matanuska Electric.
context_section_description: The dam is 26 ft (7.9 m) tall and 555 ft (169 m) long. It is filled with 5,000 cu yd (3,800 m³) sand, gravel and earth and its crest is 875 ft (267 m) above sea level. The reservoir created by the dam, Eklutna Lake, covers 3,247 acres (1,314 ha) and is 7 mi (11 km) long. At an elevation of 867.5 ft (264.4 m), the reservoir holds 182,000 acre⋅ft (224,000,000 m³) of water. To connect the reservoir and power plant, there is a 9 ft (2.7 m) diameter, 4.46 mi (7.18 km) long penstock which starts at the intake, located on the northwest corner of the lake. From the intake, water rushes down the penstock where it reaches two 23.5 MW Francis turbine-generators. Water used by the power plant is then discharged into the Knik River.
caption: Inside the power plant
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