Ridgway Dam facts for kids
The Ridgway Dam is a large earthen dam built on the Uncompahgre River in Ouray County, Colorado. It creates the Ridgway Reservoir, which is about 6 miles (10 km) north of the town of Ridgway. This dam is 332 feet (101 meters) tall and 2,465 feet (751 meters) long. It can hold a lot of water, about 84,410 acre-feet (104 million cubic meters).
The Ridgway Dam was built as part of a bigger plan called the Dallas Creek Project. Building started in 1978 and finished in 1987. Because of the dam's construction, a main road, U.S. Highway 550, had to be moved. Also, a part of the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad that went through the area was no longer used.
How Ridgway Dam Makes Electricity
In 2014, the Ridgway Dam got an important upgrade. Workers added a hydroelectric power plant to it. This means the dam can now use the power of moving water to create electricity!
Generating Power with Water
The company that manages the dam, Tri-County Water Conservancy District, put in two special machines called turbines and generators. One system is small, making 8 kilowatts (kW) of power. The other is much larger, making 7.2 megawatts (MW). The bigger system is used during the summer when more water is available. The smaller one is used in the winter.
Who Uses the Electricity?
The electricity made at Ridgway Dam is sold to other companies. Some goes to the Tri-State Generation & Transmission Association. Some is also sold to the City of Aspen. Building this new power plant cost around $18 million. On average, these two generators produce about 24,000 megawatt-hours of electricity each year. That's enough to power many homes!
