Water Levels and Generation - White River at Powersite Dam (White River/Bull Shoals Lake)

Powersite Dam is a hydroelectric dam that went into service in 1913 in Forsyth, Missouri. It is found along the White River, and the reservoir it forms is Lake Taneycomo.

It was the first hydroelectric dam built in Missouri. Designed in 1911 by Nils F. Ambursen as the largest concrete buttress dam of its kind, the dam is still privately owned by the Empire District Electric Company. Originally constructed to provide 4 megawatts of 25 hertz power, it has since been upgraded to provide 16 megawatts of 60 hertz power. Sixty hertz is now the standard frequency of electric power in North America, though the old 25 hertz power distribution was more efficient, having less losses.

“Lake Taneycomo” was formed in 1913 with the completion of the 1200 foot long 70 foot tall “Powersite Dam,” across the White River at a cost of $3.2 Million. Prior to that time the “White River” ran unimpeded from its point of origin, in the Boston Mountains, 734 miles to the Mississippi River.