History

Construction of Canyon Ferry Power Plant started in 1949 and was completed in 1954. Unit 1 began operation in December 1953, and Units 2 and 3 in March 1954. Canyon Ferry Power Plant is part of the Eastern Division of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program.

The Canyon Ferry Unit is a multi-purpose project, which provides low cost power generation and makes an important contribution to the flood control, irrigation, and power supply in the upper Missouri Basin. Canyon Ferry was constructed to provide regulation of runoff for low cost power and to permit increased irrigation diversions in the upper Missouri River Basin. With a total capacity of 2,051,000 acre-feet, Canyon Ferry Reservoir makes possible the irrigation of 155,600 acres of land and supplements irrigation of 82,000 acres in the upper Missouri area. The reservoir permits upstream irrigation development by reregulating residual flows of the river for downstream power plants.

The Canyon Ferry Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Project was authorized by the Flood Control Act of December 22, 1944, Public Law 534, which approved the general comprehensive plan set forth in Senate Document 191, as revised and coordinated by Senate Document 247, 78th Congress, 2d Session.

Plan

Canyon Ferry Power Plant, with an installed capacity of 50,000 kilowatts, supplies expanding power needs for residential and commercial use in a wide surrounding area. The power plant is located at the downstream toe of the dam on the right abutment. Three 13.5-foot diameter penstocks, embedded in the dam, supply water to three 23,500 horsepower, vertical-shaft, Francis-type hydraulic turbines each driving a 16,667-kilowatt generator. The Canyon Ferry 115-kolovolt switchyard is a steel structure mounted on the roof of the power plant. Canyon Ferry's annual power generation over a 10-year period has averaged 383,700,000 kilowatt-hours.

Canyon Ferry Dam is a concrete structure rising 225 feet above the rock foundation and impounds flows of the Missouri River for multi-purpose use. Canyon Ferry Reservoir is about 25 miles long with a total capacity of 2,051,000 acre-feet. Construction of Canyon Ferry Power Plant started in 1949 and was completed in 1954. Unit 1 began operation in December 1953, and Units 2 and 3 in March 1954.

Canyon Ferry Power Plant is part of the Eastern Division of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program. The Missouri River Basin experienced its fourth consecutive year of drought conditions, resulting in below average power generation in FY2000 through FY2003. FY2003 activities included installation of new 115-kV protective line relays; installation and testing of a new prototype turbine air system for increasing low dissolved oxygen; and replacement of the camp 12.47-kV overhead distribution line with a new underground line.

Major activities planned in the near future include replacement of the unit circuit breakers; replacement of the power plant protective relaying; replacement of the station battery system; replacement of the power plant sump pumps; replacement of the generator bearing cooling water piping; repairs to the power penstocks coating; replacement of the power plant data logger; and repairs to the spillway stilling basin.

Responsibilities, in addition to the operation and maintenance of the 50,000-kilowatt power plant, also include the operation and maintenance of the dam, reservoir, switchyard, a Government camp, two water and sewage systems, and roads and fences.

General