SKQ Dam

Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’ Dam
Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’ Dam (2018)
Location	Flathead Indian Reservation, Lake County, Montana, U.S.
Construction began	1930
Opening date	1938
Operator(s)	Energy Keepers Inc., Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
Dam and spillways
Impounds	Flathead River
Height	205 ft (62 m)
Length	751 ft (229 m)
Reservoir
Total capacity	1,217,000 acre⋅ft (1.501 km3)
Catchment area	8,587 sq mi (22,240 km2)
Surface area	191.5 sq mi (496 km2)
Power Station
Commission date	1938-1954[1]
Turbines	3 units
Installed capacity	208 MW[2]
Annual generation	1,100 GWh annually

The Seli’š Ksanka Qlispe’ Dam, also known as SKQ Dam, (formerly known as the Kerr Dam) is a concrete gravity-arch dam located at river mile 72 of the Flathead River (116 river kilometer). Built in 1938, it raises the level and increases the size of Flathead Lake near Polson, Montana. The dam was designed to generate hydroelectricity but also serves recreational and irrigation uses.

The dam was originally named after Frank Kerr, president of the Montana Power Company, which undertook the construction, with federal assistance during the Great Depression. The construction provided numerous jobs at a critical time. The dam is located within the Flathead Indian Reservation, and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes operated it jointly with successive electric companies. In 2015 the tribes and their energy company completed purchase of the dam. On September 5, 2015, during the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' celebration of their acquisition of the dam, the Tribal Council announced renaming the complex to reflect the three confederated tribes.^[3]