Alcova Dam
Encyclopedia
Alcova Dam is a 265 feet (80.8 m) tall zoned earthfill dam in central Wyoming
, built in 1935-38 on the North Platte River
and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for water storage and hydroelectric power generation. The dam was built as part of the Kendrick Project, formerly the Casper-Alcova Project, whose central features are Alcova and Seminoe
dams.
Alcova Powerplant comprises two generating units, each 18 MW. The reservoir's capacity is 184405 acre.ft, but only 30606 acre.ft may be used for irrigation.
, irrigating 60000 acres (24,281.2 ha). The project was authorized in 1933, with $15,000,000 allocated by 1936. Initially titled the Casper-Alcova Project, the effort was renamed the Kendrick Project in 1937 to honor Wyoming senator John B. Kendrick
. Work on a diversion tunnel began in 1933. Work on the dam started in 1935, carried out by a joint venture of W.E. Callahan Construction of Dallas, Texas, and Gunther and Shirley of Los Angeles, California. Earthfill placement started in 1936.and was completed in 1937. The reservoir was filled in 1938, with final completion of the dam on May 8, 1938. The powerplant was not started until 1952, completed three years later.
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
, built in 1935-38 on the North Platte River
North Platte River
The North Platte River is a major tributary of the Platte River and is approximately long counting its many curves, It travels about distance. Its course lies in the U.S...
and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation for water storage and hydroelectric power generation. The dam was built as part of the Kendrick Project, formerly the Casper-Alcova Project, whose central features are Alcova and Seminoe
Seminoe Dam
Seminoe Dam is a concrete arch dam on the North Platte River in the U.S. state of Wyoming. The dam stores irrigation water and generates hydroelectricity, and is owned and operated by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. It lies in a narrow canyon in the semiarid, windswept hinterlands of the...
dams.
Alcova Powerplant comprises two generating units, each 18 MW. The reservoir's capacity is 184405 acre.ft, but only 30606 acre.ft may be used for irrigation.
History
Alcova Canyon was first surveyed for potential damsites in 1903. In 1921 a dam was proposed at Alcova to divert water to CasperCasper, Wyoming
Casper is the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States.. Casper is the second-largest city in Wyoming , according to the 2010 census, with a population of 55,316...
, irrigating 60000 acres (24,281.2 ha). The project was authorized in 1933, with $15,000,000 allocated by 1936. Initially titled the Casper-Alcova Project, the effort was renamed the Kendrick Project in 1937 to honor Wyoming senator John B. Kendrick
John B. Kendrick
John Benjamin Kendrick was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Wyoming.Kendrick was born near Rusk, Texas, where he attended the public schools, and then moved to Wyoming in 1879 and settled on a ranch near Sheridan, where he raised cattle.He was a member of the State...
. Work on a diversion tunnel began in 1933. Work on the dam started in 1935, carried out by a joint venture of W.E. Callahan Construction of Dallas, Texas, and Gunther and Shirley of Los Angeles, California. Earthfill placement started in 1936.and was completed in 1937. The reservoir was filled in 1938, with final completion of the dam on May 8, 1938. The powerplant was not started until 1952, completed three years later.
External links
- Alcova Dam at the Bureau of Reclamation
- Alcova Powerplant atthe Bureau of Reclamation
- Kendrick Project at the Bureau of Reclamation