{{short description|Flood control structure}} [[File:Huffman Dam.jpg|thumb|Huffman Dam - a part of the Miami Conservancy District. The Mad River flows freely until the water level rises.]] A '''dry dam''' is a dam constructed for the purpose of flood control. Dry dams typically contain no gates or turbines, and are intended to allow the channel to flow freely during normal conditions. During periods of intense rainfall that would otherwise cause floods, the dam holds back the excess water, releasing it downstream at a controlled rate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tmcd.org/flood/works.asp|title=How a Dam Works|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070353/http://www.tmcd.org/flood/works.asp|archivedate=2016-03-04}}</ref>
Development of dry dams was pioneered by the Miami Conservancy District which built five such dams on tributaries to the Great Miami River to prevent flooding of the Miami Valley and Dayton, Ohio.<ref name=MV>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC1DG3C_what-a-dam-sight?guid=70be17a9-6feb-44ca-82bc-8994e45ff80b|title=What a Dam Sight}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.asce.org/People-and-Projects/Projects/Landmarks/Miami-Conservancy-District/ |title=Miami Conservancy District flood control project |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130901231802/http://www.asce.org/People-and-Projects/Projects/Landmarks/Miami-Conservancy-District/ |archivedate=2013-09-01 }}</ref><ref name=Dry>{{cite journal|author=Tetsuya Sumi|url=http://ecohyd.dpri.kyoto-u.ac.jp/data/sumi/2008/200811.pdf|title=DESIGNING AND OPERATING OF FLOOD RETENTION 'DRY' DAMS IN JAPAN AND USA}}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
==See also== * Levee * Hydrology
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070428215826/http://www.miamiconservancy.org/flood/works.asp Miami Conservancy District: How a dry dam works]
Category:Dams by type Category:Flood control projects Category:Hydrology Category:History of Dayton, Ohio