Webster Reservoir | |
---|---|
Location | Rooks County, Kansas |
Coordinates | 39°24′30″N 99°25′28″W / 39.40833°N 99.42444°WCoordinates: 39°24′30″N 99°25′28″W / 39.40833°N 99.42444°W |
Type | Reservoir |
Primary inflows | South Fork Solomon River |
Primary outflows | South Fork Solomon River |
Catchment area | 1,150 sq mi (3,000 km2) |
Basin countries | United States |
Managing agency | U.S. Bureau of Reclamation |
Built | March 1953 |
First flooded | May 3, 1956 |
Max. length | 7 miles (11 km) |
Surface area | 3,767 acres (15.24 km2) |
Max. depth | 42 feet (13 m) |
Water volume |
Full: 76,157 acre⋅ft (93,938,000 m3) Current (Nov. 2015): 17,091 acre⋅ft (21,081,000 m3) |
Shore length1 | 27 miles (43 km) |
Surface elevation |
Full: 1,893 ft (577 m) Current (Nov. 2015): 1,870 ft (570 m) |
Settlements | , Damar, Webster |
References | |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
Webster Reservoir is a reservoir in Rooks County, Kansas, United States. Built and managed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, it is used for flood control, irrigation, and recreation.Webster State Park is located on its shore.
Construction of Webster Dam and Reservoir was approved as part of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program. Following the Great Flood of 1951, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation determined the project could provide additional flood control and irrigation support to the region. Contractors started construction in March 1953, but a combination of funding problems and adverse weather caused multiple delays over the following years. The project's namesake, the small community of Webster, laid within the reservoir's intended basin and had to be relocated roughly 2 miles (3.2 km) to the southeast. Water storage in the reservoir began May 3, 1956, and the Webster project became formally operational September 1, 1956.
Area residents successfully organized Webster Irrigation District No. 4 and obtained a water right in December 1956. Construction of downstream irrigation infrastructure, including a diversion dam near Woodston, Kansas and the Osborne Canal, began in July 1957 and finished in April 1961.
Webster Reservoir is located in northwestern Kansas on the western edge of the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains. It is located entirely within Rooks County.
The reservoir is impounded at its eastern end by Webster Dam located at 39°24′30″N 99°25′28″W / 39.40833°N 99.42444°W (39.4083423, -99.4245476) at an elevation of 1,893 feet (577 m). The South Fork Solomon River is both the reservoir's primary inflow and outflow.