Griggs Dam facts for kids
Griggs Dam is a large wall built across the Scioto River in Columbus, Ohio. It is located near Upper Arlington, Ohio, in Franklin County. This important dam creates a big lake called Griggs Reservoir. This lake is a main source of drinking water for the people living in Columbus.
The dam is named after Julian Griggs, who was the city's chief engineer. It was finished in 1905 and cost about $700,000. Griggs Dam was the very first large reservoir built to supply water to the Columbus area. For 20 years, it was the only reservoir that provided drinking water for the city.
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What is Griggs Dam?
Griggs Dam is a type of dam called a gravity dam. This means it uses its own heavy weight to hold back the water. The dam has a curved concrete wall that is about 500 feet (152 meters) long. Even though the dam is only about 35 feet (11 meters) tall, it creates a long reservoir. This lake stretches for almost 6 miles (9.7 kilometers) and can hold a huge amount of water – about 1.2 billion US gallons (4.5 billion liters)!
Getting to Griggs Dam
US Route 33 runs right along the east side of the dam. This road makes it easy to get to the dam and the recreation areas around it. You can access areas both upstream (where the water flows from) and downstream (where the water flows to) from the dam.
Griggs Dam and O'Shaughnessy Dam
About 10 miles (16 kilometers) upstream from Griggs Dam, there is another dam called O'Shaughnessy Dam. This dam is a bit larger than Griggs Dam. Both dams are owned and managed by the city of Columbus.
Together, the two reservoirs can hold about 8 billion US gallons (30 billion liters) of water. They work together to make sure Columbus always has enough drinking water.
How the Dams Work Together
During dry summer months, when water levels might get low, Griggs Reservoir can often stay full. This is because water can be released from O'Shaughnessy Reservoir first. By using O'Shaughnessy's water before Griggs', the city saves the water in Griggs Reservoir for when it's really needed. This smart system means that people in Columbus can use the full area of Griggs Reservoir for fun activities during the summer.
