Tainter gate

The Tainter gate is a type of radial arm floodgate used in dams and canal locks to control water flow.

[1] Tainter, an employee of the lumber firm Knapp, Stout and Co., invented the gate in 1886 for use on the company's dam that forms Lake Menomin in the United States.

The rounded face, long radial arms and bearings allow it to close with less effort than a flat gate.

[3] In 1995, too much stress during an opening resulted in a gate failure at Folsom Dam in northern California.

A Tainter gate is also used to divert the flow of water to San Fernando Power Plant on the Los Angeles Aqueduct.

Side view cut-away diagram of the radial arm of the Tainter gate, Ice Harbor Dam , Snake River, Pasco, Washington (USACE)
Tainter gate from the back, or spillway, on the John H. Kerr Dam , Boydton, Virginia (USACE)
Tainter gate being constructed, in 1936, on the upper Mississippi River, Lock and Dam No. 7 (Onalaska Dam), La Crescent, Minnesota (USACE)
Stevenson Dam Tainter Gate on the Housatonic River in Connecticut.
Tainter gate at McAlpine Dam , Ohio River , Louisville, Kentucky