Kenney Reservoir is located in

Rio Blanco County, Colorado Rio Blanco County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 6,529. The county seat is Meeker. The name of the county is the Spanish language name for the White River which runs through it. H ...

five mlies east of the town of Rangely along

Colorado State Highway 64 State Highway 64 (SH 64) is a two-lane state highway connecting the towns of Dinosaur and Meeker in the western part of the U.S. state of Colorado. It is located in both Moffat and Rio Blanco counties. The western end of SH 64 is part of the ...

. The reservoir is owned and managed by the Rio Blanco Water Conservancy District.

Dam

The dam, called Taylor Draw Dam, (National ID # CO02572) is an

earthen dam An embankment dam is a large artificial dam. It is typically created by the placement and compaction of a complex semi-plastic mound of various compositions of soil or rock. It has a semi-pervious waterproof natural covering for its surface an ...

, with a large center spillway, built in 1984. The dam was constructed to prevent flooding caused by ice dams on the White River, dams that would cause flooding along Main Street in Rangely. The dam's height was increased in 1991 to allow for the addition of a

hydroelectric power plant Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

. The 2-megawatt plant began operation in 1993 and supplies electricity to the nearby area. The dam and reservoir have a big problem with

siltation Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate Terrestrial ecoregion, terrestrial Clastic rock, clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the ...

. When it was built, the reservoir had a capacity of of water and a surface area of , but because of the continuing siltation, the reservoir now has a capacity of and a surface area of .

References

External links

Official website
Reservoirs in Colorado Dams in Colorado Dams completed in 1984 Protected areas of Rio Blanco County, Colorado Buildings and structures in Rio Blanco County, Colorado Bodies of water of Rio Blanco County, Colorado {{Colorado-geo-stub