Burnsville Lake

Infobox lake
lake_name = Burnsville Lake
image_lake = USACE Burnsville Lake and Dam.jpg
caption_lake = Lake and Dam
image_bathymetry =
caption_bathymetry =
location = Braxton County, West Virginia
coords = coord|38.8400967|N|80.6181495|W|type:waterbody_region:US-WV|display=inline,title
type = reservoir
inflow = Little Kanawha River
outflow = Little Kanawha River
catchment = 165 sq mi(427 km²)
basin_countries = United States
length =
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Burnsville Lake is both a recreational and flood control reservoir on Little Kanawha River located southeast of Burnsville in Braxton County, West Virginia. Burnsville Lake was authorized by the U.S. Congress in the Flood Control Act of 1938.

Construction of the Burnsville Lake project was begun in the summer of 1972 and the dam was completed in September 1976. The lake project controls the runoff from a drainage area of 165 square miles (427 km²). The dam is a rock-fill embankment dam rising convert|84.5|ft above the streambed. Top elevation is convert|839|ft above sea level, and the crest length is convert|1400|ft. A gated spillway is located in the left abutment. The outlet works are located in the spillway section. The minimum pool is maintained at elevation convert|776|ft with a surface area of convert|550|acre|0. The summer pool is at elevation convert|789|ft and has a surface area of convert|968|acre|0. The flood control pool is at elevation convert|825|ft with a surface area of convert|1900|acre|0.

Many people in Burnsville and surrounding communities opposed the building of the dam since the back waters would flood areas currently occupied and locations of ancestral homes. Cemeteries had to be moved and residents had to relocate. Once the dam was built, there was no recreation area for local residents instead residents of Burnsville had to travel to Bull Run.

References

*Data furnished by the Department of the Army.