Webster Dam

Overview
The Webster Dam and Reservoir is located within the High Plains Province of Kansas.  The geologic conditions involved are relatively simple, as all subsurface beds are nearly horizontal.  No major faults or faulting is known in the area.  Some movement has occurred within the Niobrara and Carlisle formations, with joints and small faults being the existing evidence.  Moisture moving along the faults created planes of weakness where sliding could occur.  All deposits are of a sedimentary, no igneous or metamorphic rocks are exposed or close to the surface in the Webster area.  Unconsolidated Pleistocene deposits mantle the older consolidated sediments except for a few erosional hills and bluffs formed by the more resistant Fort Hays limestone.  The deposits involved in the construction of Webster Dam ranged in age from Cretaceous (Carlisle shale) to Recent (river Alluvium).  Tertiary deposits are not found at the damsite but do occur adjacent to the upper reaches of the reservoir.  The Carlisle shale is the bedrock underlying the river alluvium; the Fort Hays or Smoky Hill members of the Niobrara formation underlie the uplands.  The Carlisle shale is a marine of upper Cretaceous age and Gulfian Series and has an average thickness of 300 feet.  The Niobrara formation, Upper Cretaceous age, conformable overlays the Carlisle shale.  It is composed of two easily distinguished members.  The Fort Hays, the lower member, is composed of several massive chalky limestone beds separated by thin shale or bentonite layers.

General
RegionFacilities in Great Plains | Great Plains Home Page
StateKansas
CountyRooks
ProjectPSMBP-Webster
Dam Type
ReservoirWebster
WatercourseSF of Solomon Rive
Location
Longitude-99.4217
Latitude39.4083
Original Construction1953-1956
Modified Construction
National ID NumberKS00025
Hydrologic Unit Code

Dimensions
Structural Height154.0 ft
Hydraulic Height (Normal Operating Depth at Dam)86.7 ft
Top Parapet (Elevation)
Spillway Crest Elevation1884.60 ft
Crest Elevation1944.0 ft
Crest Length1944.0 ft
Crest Width
Base Width
Volume of Dam Construction Materials
Streambed at Dam Axis1839.00 ft
Top of Exclusive Flood Control Pool (Elevation)
Top of Joint Use Pool (Elevation)
Top of Active Conservation Pool (Elevation)1892.45 ft
Top of Inactive Conservation Pool (Elevation)1860.00 ft
Top of Dead Storage Pool (Elevation)1855.50 ft

Hydraulics & Hydrology
Volume
Total Water Storage at Elevation
Maximum Water Surface Elevation
Normal Water Surface Elevation1892.45 ft
Spillway Type
Auxiliary SpillwayNo
Spillway Capacity at Elevation138000.0 cfs at 1938.0 ft
Auxiliary Spillway Capacity at Elevation
Uncontrolled Spillway Capacity at Elevation
Outlet Works Capacity at Elevation380.0 cfs at 1889.6 ft
Diversion Capacity at Elevation
Drainage Area1161.0 sq mi
Hydrometeorological Report (HMR)HMR 51 & 52
Probable Maximum Flood (PMF) Report

Contact Information
Owner
TitleArea Office Manager
OrganizationNebraska-Kansas Area Office
Address1706 West Third
CityMcCook, NE 69001
Phone (Office)308-345-4400
Phone (Fax)308-345-6470
Operator
TitleArea Office Manager
OrganizationNebraska-Kansas Area Office
Address1706 West Third
CityMcCook, NE 69001
Phone (Office)308-345-4400
Phone (Fax)308-345-6470


Last updated: Apr 08, 2013