Lock and Dam No. 1 (Ford Dam) | |
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Location | Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, United States. |
Coordinates | 44°54′55″N 93°12′2″W / 44.91528°N 93.20056°W |
Opening date | Locks completed in 1932 |
Operator(s) | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District |
Dam and spillways | |
Impounds | Upper Mississippi River |
Length | 574 feet (175.0 m) |
Reservoir | |
Creates | Pool 1 |
Total capacity | 9,300 acre⋅ft (11,500,000 m3) |
Catchment area | 19,400 sq mi (50,000 km2) |
Ford Dam, officially known as Lock and Dam No. 1, is on the Upper Mississippi River and is located between Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota just north of the confluence of the Mississippi with the Minnesota River at Mississippi River mile 847.9, in Minneapolis. The powerhouse portion was previously owned by the Ford Motor Company, which operated a hydroelectric power station to feed electricity to its Twin Cities Assembly Plant on the east side of the river. It was sold to Brookfield Power Co. in April 2008. The dual-lock facility and dam was built and is operated by the St. Paul district of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Mississippi Valley Division.[1][2][3]