The Dix Dam is a dam

Dam

A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water, while other structures such as floodgates or levees are used to manage or prevent water flow into specific land regions. Hydropower and pumped-storage hydroelectricity are...

 on the Dix River

Dix River

The Dix River is a tributary of the Kentucky River in central Kentucky in the United States.It begins in western Rockcastle County, about west of Mount Vernon. It flows generally northwest, in a tight meandering course, passing north of Stanford and east of Danville. Northwest of Danville it is...

 located between Mercer

Mercer County, Kentucky

Mercer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 20,817. Its county seat is Harrodsburg. The county is named for General Hugh Mercer...

 and Garrard County, Kentucky

Garrard County, Kentucky

Garrard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is pronounced 'Gair-ad' with the third "r" silent. It was formed in 1797 and was named for James Garrard, Governor of Kentucky from 1796 to 1804. Its county seat is Lancaster. The population was 16,912 in the 2010 Census...

. It was constructed to generate hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

 and prevent flood

Flood

A flood is an overflow of an expanse of water that submerges land. The EU Floods directive defines a flood as a temporary covering by water of land not normally covered by water...

ing of the Kentucky River

Kentucky River

The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long, in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The river and its tributaries drain much of the central region of the state, with its upper course passing through the coal-mining regions of the Cumberland Mountains, and its lower course passing through the...

 but is better known for creating Herrington Lake

Herrington Lake

Herrington Lake is a artificial lake located in Mercer, Garrard and Boyle counties in Kentucky, USA. The lake was created by Kentucky Utilities' damming of the Dix River, a tributary of the Kentucky River, in 1925 to generate hydroelectric power. With a maximum depth of , Herrington Lake is the...

.

History

Dix Dam was built to create a reservoir for operating a hydroelectric generating station. The dam also helped mitigate flooding on the Kentucky River by holding water in Herrington Lake during critical periods. Construction began in the fall of 1923, impoundment of water began on March 17, 1925, and the project was completed and power generation began in October 1927. The project cost more than US $7 million.

Dix Dam was constructed Kentucky Utilities

Kentucky Utilities

Kentucky Utilities is based in Lexington, Kentucky and provides electricity to 77 counties in Kentucky. KU also serves five counties in Virginia under the name Old Dominion Power. It is owned by LG&E and KU Energy, LLC, which, in turn, is owned by PPL Corporation.-History:Kentucky Utilities was...

, a private corporation prior to the Great Depression. Consequently, Kentucky Utilities owns the land beneath Herrington Lake up to the maximum possible lake level of 760 feet (231.6 m) above sea level. It also owns Dix Dam.

When Dix Dam was built, it was the largest rock filled dam in the world. The top of the dam is 287 feet (87.5 m) above the riverbed and 1087 feet (331.3 m) across and is 24 feet (7.3 m) wide at the top and 750 feet (228.6 m) wide at its base. Herrington Lake is the deepest lake in Kentucky. It is 35 miles (56.3 km) long, up to 1200 feet (365.8 m) wide, covers 2335 acres (944.9 ha) and has 325 miles (523 km) of shoreline. It is deepest near the Dix Dam with water depth of 249 feet (75.9 m) and has a mean depth of 78 feet (23.8 m). The estimated capacity of the lake is 175000000000 gallons (662,447,100 m³).

The hydroelectric generating station was originally designed to produce 30 megawats of power. Over time other generating plants were constructed near the dam and the facility was named E. W. Brown Generating Station

E. W. Brown Generating Station

The E. W. Brown Generating Station is a coal-fired power plant owned and operated by Kentucky Utilities near Harrodsburg, Kentucky. It lies even closer to the small city of Burgin.-Emissions Data:* 2006 CO2 Emissions: 3,978,892 tons...

.
A coal-fired generator was added to the Brown Plant in 1957.
More recently, a combustion turbine generating facility was added with six turbine units - four more are planned. They are fueled by either natural gas or fuel oil.

Kentucky Utilities' systems control center has been located inside the Dix Dam plant since the 1920s. In 1954, they built a new control center near the dam. Subsequently, they have modernized and computerized the control center.

In 1991, Kentucky Utilities constructed a fish ladder in the Dix River near the dam as part of the Aquatic Habitat Enhancement Project, with the aim of protecting and increasing the trout population in the Dix River.

Current status

The original hydroelectric plant is now used mainly when heavy rainfall results in above normal lake elevation. The plant produces 24 megawatts of power with all three units on.
The three coal-fired generators can produce 700 megawatts of electricity, more than one-fifth of KU's total capacity.
An average of 15000000 short tons (13,607,771,100 kg) of coal is burned annually at Brown Station.
Four of the combustion turbine units can deliver 110 megawatts each; the other two can produce 164 megawatts each.
During periods of high demand, the combustion turbines can be started and come to full load in just 30 minutes.