Jordans Point Dam Homework Assignment

Step 1: Go to Jordans Point Dam and observe the water flowing over the dam for at least 5 minutes.

Step 2: Immortalize the moment by photographing yourself at the dam- email the photograph to me.

Step 3: Look up the discharge of the Maury River upstream at Rockbridge Baths and downstream at Buena Vista online at the USGS Waterwatch website during your observation time.

Step 4: Use the formula below to interpolate the discharge at Jordans Point based on the relative area of its watershed:

Step 5: Multiply your interpolated discharge at Jordans Point by 0.9 to account for the 10% of water the bypasses the dam via the spillway at this location. Report this number to me to the nearest cfs. This is the volume of water (per unit time) flowing over the dam during your visit.

Step 6: Use the formula E = p*z*Q*g*k were E = energy in watts, p = density of water, z = height of dam (2.5 meters), Q = discharge, g = acceleration due to gravity, and k = efficiency factor (0.7) to determine the amount of power (in watts) that could be generated at this site using the discharge at the time of your visit. Make sure that your units are all in combinations of m, kg, and s. Report this number to be to the nearest watt.