Work was started on the Dam System on the River Dee in 1932 and completed in 1937. The system comprises of a series of seven dams at Loch Doon, Kendoon Loch, Carsfad Loch, Clatteringshaws Loch, Earlston Loch, Loch Ken and Tongland Loch and serves six hydro electric generating stations along eighty miles of river. (see map)

The Galloway hydro-electric scheme is a considerable feat of engineering and includes a four mile tunnel from Clatteringshaws Loch to the generating station at Glenlee. It was the first hydro-electric scheme to be built in Scotland, and has operated well for over 60 years and is now able to supply peak demand electricity to the national grid. The reservoirs of water created by the dams can be released at short notice to provide power for the turbines at the generating stations.