Standing fifty-four feet taller than Niagara Falls, Kerr Dam
is a very interesting place to visit. The dam was started in 1929, by Rocky
Mountain Power and although the actual construction time was three or four years,
because of the lack of money during the depression, construction was halted
a few times before the had the dam ready for operation in 1938. The dam has
influenced the economy from the beginning. It produces power from Kalispell
to Missoula and produces electricity for irrigation and improved farm productivity.
Kerr Dam is located eight miles south of Polson on the Flathead
River, and it has played an important role in the Flathead Valley’s economy.
It provided many jobs during construction when work in the area was sometimes
hard to find, and today Kerr still puts a lot of money into the community. It
is the largest electrical generating power plant in the Montana Power Company
system. The dam is 204 feet high, 450 feet long at the top, 100 feet long at
the base, containing 85,000 cubic yards of concrete. The dam storage of water
amounts to 1,217,000 acre/ft. The water is kept at an elevation between 2,883ft
and 2,893ft above sea level. Its total capacity is 190,000 kilowatts, or 190
mega-watts. (Bergman & McAlear). When the dam was finished it consisted
of one powerhouse and on generator. According to Lloyd Turnage, one of four
employers, the dam consists of three generators and one powerhouse.
Kerr Dam was built as a gravity dam, which is a solid concrete
structure with triangular cross sections. The dam is thick at its base and
thinner towards its top. When seen from the top it is slightly curved and the
upper side of the dam is vertical. It depends primarily on its own weight for
stability and has the least maintenance compared to arch dams, buttress dams, or
embankment dams The height of the dam, which is 204 ft, was limited by the
topography of the dam location. Outlet works are necessary so that water can be
drawn continuously from reservoirs. To get power out of the dam, the water
flowing out of the spillways is run through generators to produce electrical
power. Construction of Kerr Dam began on May 23, 1930, by Rocky Mountain Power.
Kerr Dam was named after Frank A. Kerr.
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essay
excerpt from:
Kerr Dam: All you want to know…. Justin Foust and Benett Kruttoff