Zintel Canyon Dam
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Zintel Canyon Dam is a
dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...
spanning Zintel Canyon on the south side of Kennewick in the U.S. state of
Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...
. The structure was constructed in 1992 to block a water body that runs dry most of the year. The watershed above the dam is approximately comprising a semi-arid region of the Horse Heaven Hills. The dam was built to protect portions of Kennewick from a
100-year flood A 100-year flood is a flood event that has a 1 in 100 chance (1% probability) of being equaled or exceeded in any given year. The 100-year flood is also referred to as the 1% flood, since its annual exceedance probability is 1%.Holmes, R.R., Jr. ...
scenario. While rare, water has been observed behind the dam in the past. Despite the low precipitation in the area, summertime thunderstorms can stall in the hills and send a flash flood down the canyon. A more minor threat comes from rapid snowmelt in the hills above the dam. Small floods from these events have filled Kennewick's Rainier Street seven times before construction of the dam. A project that was underway to improve Kennewick's water supply in 2014 caused erosion on public land near the Washington State Patrol office near the dam. This resulted in an accumulation of silt at the base of the back side of the structure. This project will allow the city to store water in an aquifer in the Southridge area, lowering the amount of water the city pulls out of the
Columbia River The Columbia River (Upper Chinook: ' or '; Sahaptin: ''Nch’i-Wàna'' or ''Nchi wana''; Sinixt dialect'' '') is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, C ...
. The maximum reservoir capacity behind the dam is 1260 acre-feet.


See also

*
Amon Creek Amon Creek is the largest tributary of the Lower Yakima River in Benton County, Washington. From the source of its East Fork to its mouth at the Yakima, it flows about , passing through Kennewick and Richland. The East Fork as well as the main c ...
* List of dams in the Columbia River watershed


References

{{reflist Buildings and structures in Benton County, Washington Dams completed in 1992 Dams in Washington (state) Horse Heaven Hills Kennewick, Washington United States Army Corps of Engineers dams 1992 establishments in Washington (state)