This site is dedicated to my father Charles "Chuck" Nickolaisen
Owner: Utah Power & Light
Engineer: Harza Engineering Chicago, Illinois
Contractor: Gibbons & Reed Company Salt Lake City Utah
Project Manager: Charles Nickolaisen - Deceased
Earthwork Supt.: Jack Nickolaisen
Structure Supt.: Lee Eads
Drilling & Grouting by Jensen Drilling Company
Dwayne Jensen - Deceased
Brief History :
The initial contract to construct the dam was let in 1971. Little was done to the actual construction that year. The primary work began in the spring of 1972.
Since the weather was a definite factor, the work season was short. We worked from March to October. It rained almost every day in Huntington Canyon and it began to snow as early as August. The abutment keyways were completed in 1972 along with the intake tower foundation and the outlet tunnel. The outlet tunnel is basically a concrete box culvert that was poured in place along the West abutment of the dam. We were completely snowed out of the project by early November. Maintenance of the road through Huntington Canyon ceased and the road became quickly buried in snow.
Spring 1973 worked commenced again. We nearly lost the previous years foundation work because the Spring run off nearly overwhelmed our diversion canal and the outlet tunnel. Somehow we managed to contain it and we started to dry things out. We set up the borrow pits for construction by striping the top 2 feet of soil to expose dry material. The Clay core of the dam was mined 3 miles upstream to what is now the North end of the lake. The Granular buttress fills were excavated mostly within 1 mile of the dam within the future reservoir on both sides of Huntington Creek.
Rock Rip rap for the face of the dam was mined just above the crest of the dam on the East abutment.
The actual fill started in early May 1973 and the dam was topped just after labor day. 1.9 Million Cubic Yards were moved 24/7 in just Nine weeks.
The Rock Rip rap was brought up on the face of the dam as it began to rise.

During that time the intake tower was completed along with the pressure grouting of the abutments.
The diversion opening at the base of the intake tower was sealed in  October 1973 and Electric Lake began to fill. Again we were completely snowed out in early November.

At that time all that remained was the Rip Rap that needed to be installed in the corners of the downstream abutments on both sides of the dam.
Spring 1974 found things to be pretty muddy and it was noted that the dam was leaking around the abutments. The rising water had found its way around the original grout curtain. Nearly 1 million Cubic feet of grout was pumped into the abutments and the dam stopped leaking.
The Dam was totally completed in 1974 and turned over to Utah Power and Light.

Editors Note: I visited the dam in August 2008, the first time I had been back since 1982. I spoke with some of the maintenance people who were very friendly but did not know a lot about when & how it was constructed. When I returned home, I Googled Electric Lake Dam and I was surprised that there was little information about its construction. Since I was there and the fact that I have a lot of pictures of the construction I decided to create this web page for anyone who is interested.

We as Engineers and Constructors are not allowed to build many dams anymore due to environmental and safety issues. I was recently involved with the construction of the Olivenhien Dam in San Diego County California. (About 5 years ago) This dam is constructed of "Roller Compacted Concrete" A relatively new method in Dam Construction. I am sure it will probably be my last. I have watched and been involved in the construction of numerous Dams, mostly as a child with my father who built many all over the world.