Lake Zumbro Hydroelectric Generating Plant

Italy

The Lake Zumbro Hydroelectric Generating Plant, also known as the City of Rochester Municipal Hydro-Electric Plant, is a hydroelectric facility on the Zumbro River in Mazeppa and Zumbro Townships in the U. S. State of Minnesota. The facility consists of a gravity dam and a powerhouse, and formerly i

ncluded three houses for the plant operators. The houses were removed in the 1960s when the dam was retrofitted to allow remote operation of the generating equipment from Rochester. The impoundment created is called Lake Zumbro. This dam spans 904 feet (276 m) and is 66 feet (20 m) high, creating a reservoir with about 55 feet (17 m) of hydraulic head. The idea of building a hydroelectric plant on the Zumbro River north of Rochester had been discussed at least as far back as 1904, when several entrepreneurs surveyed the river, going so far as to buy land for a dam site. An effort was made to secure funding for a 60-foot (18 m) dam and transmission line to enable sale of electricity to the city, but the city council declined the arrangement as they did not feel that Rochester's power consumption would justify it. In 1915, a bond issue for a new hydroelectric plant was put before the city...

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