| Gathright Dam | |
|---|---|
 Gathright Dam | |
  Location of Gathright Dam in Virginia | |
| Location | Alleghany County, near Kincaid, Virginia |
| Coordinates | 37°58′21″N 79°57′51″W / 37.9726054°N 79.9641174°W[1] |
| Construction began | 1974 |
| Opening date | 1979 |
| Operator(s) | U.S. Army Corps of Engineers |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Type of dam | Embankment, rock-fill |
| Impounds | Jackson River |
| Height | 257 feet (78 m) |
| Length | 1,310 feet (400 m) |
| Width (base) | 32 feet (9.8 m) (crest) 1,000 feet (300 m) (base) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Lake Moomaw |
| Total capacity | Normal: 40 billion US gallons (150,000,000 m3) Max: 137 billion US gallons (520,000,000 m3) |
| Catchment area | 345 square miles (890 km2) |
| Surface area | 3.9 square miles (10 km2) |
Gathright Dam is an earthen and rolled rock-fill embankment dam on the Jackson River 19 miles (31 km) north of Covington, Virginia. The dam is 257 feet (78 m) tall and 1,310 feet (400 m) long and has a controlled spillway within the structure's southern portion. It creates Lake Moomaw, which has a normal volume of 40 billion US gallons (150,000,000 m3). The dam serves flood control and recreational purposes and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.[2]
The Gathright Dam's intake tower contains nine portals that allow it to release water between reservoir depths of 12 to 87 feet (3.7 to 26.5 m). This allows the dam to manage the temperature and flow of water released downstream.[3] This helps mitigate some of the negative environmental effects posed by the dam and manage fisheries downstream.
- ^ "Lake Moomaw". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved Jan 16, 2021.
- ^ "Findlakes.com - Gathright Dam". Archived from the original on 2010-01-04. Retrieved 2010-01-09.
- ^ "Lake Moomaw" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-01-15. Retrieved 2010-01-09. (48.8 KB)