Kaw Lake

{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2025}}

{{Infobox body of water

| name = Kaw Lake

| image = Kaw Lake seen from Spillway.jpg

| caption = Looking North from the road over the dam across the Arkansas River July 14, 2007

| image_bathymetry =

| caption_bathymetry =

| location = Kay / Osage counties, Oklahoma, US

| coords = {{coord|36.7708|-96.8335|type:waterbody_region:US-OK|display=inline,title}}

| lake_type = reservoir

| inflow =

| outflow =

| catchment =

| basin_countries = United States

| length =

| width =

| area = {{convert|17000|acre|km2|abbr=on}}

| depth =

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| volume = {{convert|428000|acre.ft|abbr=on}}

| residence_time =

| shore = {{convert|168|mi|abbr=on}}

| elevation = {{convert|1010|ft|abbr=on}}

| islands =

| cities =Kaw City, Oklahoma Ponca City, Oklahoma

| pushpin_map = Oklahoma#USA

| pushpin_label_position =

| pushpin_map_alt = Location of Kaw Lake in Oklahoma, USA.

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Kaw Lake is a reservoir completed in 1976 in the northern reaches of the U.S. state of Oklahoma, near Kaw City which is located on a hill overlooking the lake. The lake is approximately {{convert|8|mi|km}} east of Ponca City.[http://www.recreation.gov/recAreaDetails.do?contractCode=NRSO&recAreaId=563&agencyCode=130 Recreation.gov, "Kaw Lake, OK. US Army Corps of Engineers.] Retrieved September 6, 2013. Newkirk is {{convert|6|mi|km}} west of the upper end of the lake.

Kaw Dam is {{convert|9466|ft|m}} long and {{convert|121|ft|m}} above the stream bed. The dam lies {{convert|654|mi|km}} above the mouth of the Arkansas River. The top of the flood control pool is {{convert|1044.5|ft|m}}, while the normal operating level is 1,010 feet.Title {{Cite news|title=Ponca City A 'Public Power' Community |newspaper=The Ponca City News |location=Ponca City, OK |date=October 2, 1997 |url=http://www.poncacitynews.com/NewsArchives/1097folder/lo100297.html |accessdate=13 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081203173501/http://www.poncacitynews.com/NewsArchives/1097folder/lo100297.html |archivedate= 3 December 2008 }}

File:Dam at Kaw Lake.jpg

The Reservoir covers approximately 17,040 acres (69 km²). It is the seventh largest lake in Oklahoma by surface area. At normal levels, the lake holds {{convert|428,600|acre.ft|m3}} of water, the ninth largest lake in capacity in Oklahoma. (See List of lakes in Oklahoma) It lies mostly in Kay County and partially in Osage County.

Kaw Dam was authorized by Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1962. Ground was broken for the dam on May 21, 1966. The original town of Kaw City was covered by the waters of Kaw Lake in 1975. The city was rebuilt about two miles west of the old site during the late 1960s.Pittman, Annette. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. "Kaw City." [http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/K/KA008.html] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121119112723/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/K/KA008.html |date=2012-11-19 }} The dam was completed by the Corps of Engineers in May 1976. The cost of the dam and the lake was $111 million.{{Cite web|title=PCUA History |work=Ponca City Online |publisher=myponcacity.com |year=2008 |url=http://www.myponcacity.com/cms/City-Government/Departments/Ponca-City-Energy/PCUA-History.aspx |accessdate=13 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090628125811/http://www.myponcacity.com/cms/City-Government/Departments/Ponca-City-Energy/PCUA-History.aspx |archivedate=June 28, 2009 }}

The Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority (OMPA), a state governmental agency created in 1981 to provide wholesale electricity to cities and towns in Oklahoma,{{Cite web|title=Information |work=Oklahoma Municipal Power Authority |year=2007 |url=http://www.ompa.com/information.asp |accessdate=13 November 2009 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090606130043/http://www.ompa.com/information.asp |archivedate=June 6, 2009 }} purchased the substructure of the dam in July 1987 at a cost of $3.8 million and constructed a hydroelectric plant that was completed in September 1989 at a cost of $25 million. Kaw Hydroelectric generates approximately 104 gigawatt hours of energy annually. The generator is nominally rated at 25.6 megawatts at {{convert|76|ft|m}} of gross head with a maximum rating of 36.7 MVA. The plant at Kaw Dam provides power for over 35 municipal electrical systems in Oklahoma and southern Kansas. The project engineer for the Kaw Lake dam was Everette W. Woodham, Jr.

The Corps of Engineers and Camp McFadden offers camping on the west shore of Kaw Lake at Ponca Cove.

The City of Enid began a project in 2020 to lay a 70-mile pipeline to tap Kaw Lake as a municipal water source. The project will transport 10 million gallons of water per day.{{cite web|url= https://www.enidnews.com/news/city-receives-205-million-loan-for-kaw-lake-pipeline/article_6d94a546-3f18-11eb-afa0-67f114248a2f.html |title=City receives $205 million loan for Kaw Lake pipeline|publisher=Alexander Ewald, Enid News & Eagle, December 15, 2020|accessdate=August 4, 2021}}