Owyhee Dam A project of the Bureau of Reclamation, they hired General Construction Company from Seattle to build the dam. Former Oregonian and then United States President Herbert Hoover dedicated what was the highest dam of its type in the world on July 17, 1932. Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur delivered Hoover's message at the dam. Owyhee's construction served as a prototype for the larger Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, including the use of refrigeration to cool the concrete. The dam cost $6,000,000, with the total reclamation project costing $18,000,000. Owyhee was designed by Frank A. Banks, who also
Canning Dam did occur in the early stages of construction. In March 1934 there was a violent storm bringing of rain in less than two days. As a result, the river rose rapidly which flooded the dam foundation workings. Pumps had to be installed and work resumed three days later. The dam was completed in September 1940. When built it was the longest concrete gravity dam in Australia, and also the second highest after the Burrinjuck Dam in New South Wales. As of 1997 of the 90 large concrete and masonry gravity dams in Australia the Canning Dam is still the fifth