Wilson Lake (Kansas)

Wilson Lake is a reservoir in the U.S. state of Kansas, on the border of Russell County and Lincoln County. Built and managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for flood control, it is also used for wildlife management and recreation. Several parks are located along its shoreline, including Wilson State Park.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation authorized construction of Wilson Lake for the purposes of irrigation, navigation enhancement, flood control, recreation, fish and wildlife habitat, and water quality assurance. However, the salinity of the water in the Saline River, which would feed the reservoir, made using it for irrigation unfeasible. The Bureau then turned over management and operation of the project to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps of Engineers planned, designed, and constructed Wilson Dam, completing it in 1964 at a cost of $20 million, and continues to manage the reservoir to the present day.

Wilson Lake is located at 38°56′25″N 98°33′24″W / 38.94028°N 98.55667°W / 38.94028; -98.55667 (38.9401464, -98.5567638) at an elevation of 1,516 feet (462 m). It lies in north-central Kansas in the Smoky Hills region of the Great Plains. Most of Wilson Lake lies in Russell County with a small portion of its southeastern arm extending into Lincoln County.

The reservoir is impounded at its northeastern end by Wilson Dam. The dam is located at 38°58′00″N 98°29′41″W / 38.96667°N 98.49472°W / 38.96667; -98.49472 (38.9666777, -98.4947876) at an elevation of 1,588 feet (484 m). The Saline River is both the reservoir's primary inflow from the west and outflow to the east. Smaller tributaries include Elm Creek, which flows from the south into the western part of the reservoir, and Hell Creek, which feeds the reservoir's southeastern arm.

Kansas Highway 232 runs generally north–south along the reservoir's eastern shore and across the top of Wilson Dam. Shoreline Road, a paved county road, runs generally east–west parallel to the southern shore, crossing the reservoir's southeastern arm.

According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps. The hottest temperature recorded at Wilson Lake was 111 °F (43.9 °C) on August 16, 1983, and June 21, 1988, while the coldest temperature recorded was −26 °F (−32.2 °C) on December 23, 1989.

The surface area, surface elevation, and water volume of the reservoir fluctuate based on inflow and local climatic conditions. In terms of capacity, the Corps of Engineers vertically divides the reservoir into a set of pools based on volume and water level, and the reservoir is considered full when filled to the capacity of its multi-purpose pool. When full, Wilson Lake has a surface area of 9,045 acres (36.60 km²), a surface elevation of 1,516 feet (462 m), and a volume of 242,528 acre⋅ft (299,154,000 m³). When filled to maximum capacity, it has a surface area of 33,882 acres (137.12 km²), a surface elevation of 1,588 feet (484 m), and a volume of 1,666,995 acre⋅ft (2.056208×10⁹ m³).

The streambed underlying the reservoir has an elevation of 1,420 feet (430 m). Since the reservoir's initial flooding, sedimentation has gradually accumulated on the reservoir bottom thus raising its elevation.