Milltown Dam Powerhouse finally getting torn down
The Milltown Dam Powerhouse near Missoula is finally going to be torn down. This is a major milestone in the cleanup and restoration of the Milltown Reservoir near Missoula, Montana.
The dam was built in 1906-1907 to supply power to the local lumber mill, which in turn, supplied lumber for the mining operations upstream in Butte. In 1908 an enormous flood washed mine waste downstream from the Butte Mining District, depositing the wastes behind the newly constructed Milltown Dam. Over time, the arsenic in the reservoir sediments made its way into the Milltown aquifer, polluting the local drinking water supply. Copper in the sediments would periodically scour from the reservoir and kill fish downstream of the dam. Due to the public health risks, the site was listed as a federal Superfund Site in 1983.
Read more about the Milltown Dam Powerhouse demolition
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