Searsburg Dam +
Hydroelectric facility

• First online: 1922

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• Reservoir: It covers 30 acres, and is 1.0-mile in length, sitting at 1,754.66 feet above sea level with 8.5 feet of managed storage. 

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• Generation type: Conventional hydropower 

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• Hydropower type: Diversion, the Searsburg Dam diverts water to its generator through a 3.5-mile long, 8-foot diameter wooden staved pipe system. (The generator house can be seen on the left). 

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• Output: The Searsburg Station has 1 Francis turbine which outputs 5 megawatts of power amounting to 15,736.7 MWH annually.

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• Surge Tank: Because the of the 3.5 mile length and wooden staves which support the pipe that diverts the water, a surge tank is required. (which you can see at the top of the hill in the picture to the left) The surge tank gives a place for the water to go when the turbine is shut off, if there wasn't a surge tank and the water was abruptly stopped the pressure in the pipes would cause the wooden staves to break.