RonnieAdventures: RonnieAdventure #0020 - Oahe Dam, Pierre, South Dakota

I remember one day when I was a small child, Mother loaded the kids in the car and drove us out to a point overlooking the Missouri River about five miles north of Pierre, South Dakota. There were no roads in the area and we just followed some signs posted across the open prairie. When we arrived at the destination, we found a few cars and trucks parked behind a white sunshade that had been erected overlooking the river. It was a typical hot, windy, summer day and we were told that the chairs under the sunshade were for dignitaries -- and we did not qualify! As we sat in the grass complaining, Mother told us that someday we would be thankful that she made us come with her because this was a historic day that we would always remember. It was the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the Oahe Dam, which when completed would be the largest earth-rolled dam in the world. During the ceremony we were told that when the dam was completed, the residents of Pierre would never have to worry about another flood. (The river historically flooded the City of Pierre every few years and people became accustomed to sandbagging around the stores and the power plant.)

Progress on the dam seemed to progress slowly. When watching construction of the earthen dam from a ridge overlooking the construction site, the large earth moving equipment looked like small ants moving around at a snail’s pace and it did not seem possible that the construction crews could ever move enough dirt to stop the mighty Missouri River.

Many years went by and then one summer day it happened – they were going to stop the Missouri. Water in the reservoir would then be allowed to rise to the level of the diversionary tunnels that had been constructed to divert water around the dam dike while it was being completed. Water would be held at the diversionary tunnel level for a number of years until the tunnels for the power generators were completed.

I remember the day well because several of us were on the river below the dam in an old fishing boat. When the water stopped, the water drained from the river, and we found ourselves sitting in the sand with no water. And, we had to drag the boat back to the boat dock. Since there was no water in the river, we drove up to the dam site and watched as construction progressed on filling in the old river channel. It seemed really strange to see the Missouri River channel downstream from the dam without water. It did, however, create some really great fishing holes. All of the fish congregated into the low parts of the river bed in pool of what little water remained and soon the fish became hungry enough to eat any type of bait you through in the water.

The level of the reservoir continued to rise until the many trees along the original river channel behind the dam became about half submerged in water. This created great fishing and a challenge to negotiate through the trees in a motor boat (especially at high speed when pulling a water skier). The higher water level in the reservoir also open many new areas above the dam for exploring that had previously been inaccessible. .

Recently, we traveled in comfort on a boat from the boat dock in Pierre up to the dam. The trip brought back many memories from the pre-dam era when the mighty Missouri carried so much dirt and silt that the water was chocolate colored. Then, there were the days when the water in the river stopped and started filling the reservoir, and finally, the eventual completion of the dam. Of course, the promise that the City of Pierre would never experience another flood was broken in 2011 when the water level in the reservoir rose so quickly from excessive snow melt in Montana that all of the gates had to be opened to save the dam. This created the highest water flow in the river below the dam since construction of the dam had been completed and many homes along the river suffered substantial water damage. But, during my visit in 2012, things seemed to have returned to normal and the boat ride up the river was uneventful and presented the opportunity to take some great pictures.