Grand River Dam Authority
Encyclopedia
The Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) is an Oklahoma agency created to control, develop, and maintain the Grand River
waterway. It was created by the Oklahoma state legislature in 1935, and is headquartered in Vinita, Oklahoma
. It operates three hydroelectric facilities and two reservoirs, Grand Lake and Robert S. Kerr Reservoir
. It also operates the Salina Pumped Storage Project
, which includes Lake W. R. Holway
.
Grand River (Oklahoma)
The Grand River is an alternate name for the lower section of the Neosho River, a tributary of the Arkansas River in Oklahoma. "Grand River" refers to the section of river below the confluence of the Neosho and Spring rivers in Ottawa County near Miami...
waterway. It was created by the Oklahoma state legislature in 1935, and is headquartered in Vinita, Oklahoma
Vinita, Oklahoma
Vinita is a city in south-central Craig County, Oklahoma. As of 2009, the population estimate was 6,057. It is the county seat of Craig County.-Geography:...
. It operates three hydroelectric facilities and two reservoirs, Grand Lake and Robert S. Kerr Reservoir
Robert S. Kerr Reservoir
Robert S. Kerr Reservoir is located within the Cookson Hills, on the Arkansas River in Sequoyah, Le Flore, Haskell, and Muskogee counties in eastern Oklahoma, USA. It is about eight miles south of the nearest major town, Sallisaw, Oklahoma. The reservoir is impounded by Robert S...
. It also operates the Salina Pumped Storage Project
Salina Pumped Storage Project
By the mid-1960s, projected power demands by customers of the Grand River Dam Authority were expected to exceed the Authority's generating capacity. All of the acceptable hydroelectric dam sites along the Grand River had been used. GRDA decided to employ pumped storage hydroelectricity...
, which includes Lake W. R. Holway
Lake W. R. Holway
Lake W. R. Holway is a reservoir in Mayes County, Oklahoma on the Saline Creek arm of Lake Hudson . It was created in 1968 by the Grand River Dam Authority as an integral part of the Salina Pumped Storage Project. It is northeast of Locust Grove and southeast of Salina, Oklahoma. Originally named...
.
Organization
- Board of Directors
- General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
- Chief Operating Officer
- Assistant General Manager of Thermal Generation
- Assistant General Manager of Engineering, System Operations and Reliability
- Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer
- Assistant General Manager of Transmission
- Corporate Secretary
- General Counsel
- Chief Operating Officer
- General Manager/Chief Executive Officer
Budget and Personnel
The Grand River Dam Authority, as of Fiscal Year 2009, has an annual operating budget of $314 million and employs 450 employees (390 classified and 60 unclassified).Eminent Domain
GRDA has the ability and authority under state law to purchase any land in the State of Oklahoma with or without the land owners consent. If a parcel of land is chosen by the GRDA the land owner is sent a letter with the price offered for the land. The land owner may either sign the unsolicited offer, or reject it. If the offer is rejected the GRDA then files condemnation of the property and takes control of the land. The land owner has no rights once the land has been selected and will lose their property.Further reading
- W. R. HolwayW. R. HolwayWilliam Rea Holway , commonly known as W. R. Holway, was an American civil engineer who became prominent in Oklahoma. He is best known for his work on major water supply projects for the city of Tulsa, and on the Pensacola Dam at Grand Lake o' the Cherokees.Holway came to Tulsa in 1918, where he...
, A History of the Grand River Dam Authority, State of Oklahoma, 1935-1968, 2 vols. (Tulsa, Okla.: N.p., 1968 69).