{{Short description|Reservoir in Chippewa and Rusk counties, Wisconsin}} {{for|the town|Lake Holcombe, Wisconsin}} {{for|the settlement|Holcombe, Wisconsin}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Holcombe Flowage <!-- Images --> | image = Holcombe Dam-3.jpg | caption = <!-- Stats --> | location = Chippewa and Rusk County, Wisconsin | coordinates = {{coord|45|14|50|N|91|08|54|W|region:ZZ_type:waterbody|display=inline}} | type = Reservoir | rivers = Chippewa River | basin_countries = United States | date-flooded = {{Start date|1878}} | area = {{convert|2881|acre}} | depth = {{convert|12|ft}} | max-depth = {{convert|61|ft}} | volume = {{convert|47000|acre.ft|abbr=on}} | elevation = {{convert|1047|ft}} | cities = Holcombe, Wisconsin <!-- Map --> | pushpin_map = USA Wisconsin | mapframe = yes <!-- Below --> | reference = {{GNIS|1792944}} }}
'''Holcombe Flowage''' is a reservoir on the Chippewa River in Chippewa County and Rusk County, Wisconsin. The dam stands between the towns of Birch Creek and Lake Holcombe, just west of the settlement of Holcombe, Wisconsin, in Chippewa County, where most of the reservoir lies. A small part of the reservoir also extends northward into the Town of Willard in Rusk County.
The flowage is a popular recreation area, and the shores are thick with homes and cottages. It covers {{convert|2881|acre}} at an average depth of {{convert|12|ft}}, a maximum depth of {{convert|61|ft}},<ref>{{cite web |title=Wisconsin Lakes |url=https://apps.dnr.wi.gov/lakes/lakepages/LakeDetail.aspx?wbic=2184900 |website=apps.dnr.wi.gov |access-date=22 June 2025}}</ref> and a volume of just under {{convert|47000|acre.ft}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2184900a.pdf |url=http://dnr.wi.gov/lakes/maps/DNR/2184900a.pdf }}</ref>
== Holcombe Dam == {{Infobox dam | name = Holcombe Dam | name_official = Holcombe Dam | coordinates = {{coord|45|13|29|N|91|07|41|W|display=title,inline}} | country = United States | location = Chippewa and Rusk County, Wisconsin | purpose = P | status = O | opening = {{start date|1950}} | operator = Xcel Energy | dam_type = G | dam_crosses = Chippewa River | dam_height_thalweg = {{convert|60|ft}} | dam_width_crest = {{convert|6100|ft}} | dam_volume = {{convert|47000|acre.ft|abbr=on}} | spillway_count = 1 | spillway_type = Controlled | spillway_length = {{convert|462|ft}} | spillway_volumetric_flow_rate = {{convert|290000|ft3/sec|abbr=on}} | res_capacity_total = {{convert|47000|acre.ft|abbr=on}} | res_surface = {{convert|4300|acre|abbr=on}} | res_max_depth = {{convert|61|ft}} | res_elevation = {{convert|1047|ft}} | plant_type = C | plant_turbines = 3 | plant_capacity = 34 }}
The current '''Holcombe Dam''' is a hydro-electric facility built in 1950 by the Wisconsin-Minnesota Light and Power Company, and is now owned and operated by Xcel Energy.<ref>{{cite web |title=Holcombe |url=https://nid.sec.usace.army.mil/#/dams/system/WI00732/summary |website=nid.sec.usace.army.mil |publisher=National Inventory of Dams |access-date=22 June 2025}}</ref> It produces an average of 34 megawatts,<ref>{{cite news |title=Dam Safety Inspection {{!}} Holcombe (Chippewa County, WI) |url=https://data.freep.com/dam/wisconsin/chippewa-county/holcombe/wi00732/ |access-date=22 June 2025 |work=Detroit Free Press |agency=National Inventory of Dams}}</ref> and is one of six Xcel hydro plants on the Chippewa.<ref>{{cite web |title=Our Hydro Facilities |url=https://corporate.my.xcelenergy.com/s/energy/sources/hydro |website=corporate.my.xcelenergy.com |access-date=22 June 2025}}</ref>
The flowage was originally created by the 1878 Little Falls Dam impounding the Chippewa. The dam was built by Elijah Swift and Joseph Viles for the Chippewa River Improvement and Log Driving Company to provide reliable water for floating logs downstream. Parts of the dam were washed out by floods in 1880 and 1884. A terrible accident occurred in 1905, when eleven log drivers drowned trying to get to a log jam near the dam. Sixteen men in a boat had tried to break up the logjam. Five men managed to leap to safety but the rest were thrown against the logs and rocks by the current.<ref>{{cite book| last=Rosholt| first=Malcolm L.| title=Lumbermen on the Chippewa| year=1982| publisher=Rosholt House| isbn=0-910417-00-8| pages=195–198| url=http://content.mpl.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/mcml/id/3757/rec/2}}</ref> The dam functioned until 1910, when logging operations ceased. It washed out in the 1920s.
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Category:Reservoirs in Wisconsin Category:Dams in Wisconsin Category:Xcel Energy dams Category:Dams completed in 1950 Category:Energy infrastructure completed in 1950 Category:Landforms of Chippewa County, Wisconsin Category:Landforms of Rusk County, Wisconsin Category:Hydroelectric power plants in Wisconsin