Bluestone Lake Dam General Model

Bluestone Lake Dam General Model

Purpose: To evaluate structural modifications for safely increasing the discharge capacity of the dam. Specifically

raising the dam via a parapet wall and overtopping a portion of the dam.

Background: Bluestone Dam spans the New

River at Hinton, WV forming Bluestone Lake,

the third largest lake in West Virginia. At

summer pool Bluestone Lake covers 2,040 acres

and is 10.7 miles long. Bluestone Dam was

constructed as part of the Kanawha River Basin

flood control system primarily to reduce major

flood damages along the New, Kanawha, Ohio,

and Mississippi Rivers. Bluestone Dam was

completed for operational purposes in January

1949 and completely finished in January 1952.

Total construction cost of this concrete gravity

dam 165 ft. high and 2,048 ft. long was

approximately ,000,000 including land

acquisition and has prevented over a billion

dollars worth of flood damage from occurring.

Bluestone Dam has the largest drainage area,

4,565 square miles, of any dam in West Virginia.

The New River begins at Blowing Rock, North

Carolina and flows north through Virginia into West Virginia. The New River is the oldest river in North America

and partially follows the path of the prehistoric Teays River.

Facts:

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