Summersville 2022 - 16

SUMMERSVILLE DAM
Summersville Dam is located on the Gauley
River near the town of Summersville in
Nicholas County, West Virginia. Summersville
Lake is the largest lake in West Virginia
at 2,790 acres with 60 miles of shoreline and
controls 803 square miles of drainage area. A
rock-fill type earth dam gives the impression
that nature, not man, planned and placed it.
The dam is 390 feet high and 2,280 feet long,
making it the second largest dam of this type
in the eastern United States. The water is
released through a 1,555-foot long, 29-foot
diameter tunnel controlled at the lower end
by three 9-foot diameter valves. In 2001 an
80-megawatt hydropower plant was added to
the below dam area. The Dam construction
began in 1960 and was completed in 1966
at a cost of 48 million dollars. By the end
of 1974, it had paid for itself by preventing
flood damages in the Gauley and Kanawha
River basins areas at almost 67 million dollars.
Today, that figure has grown to over
$743 million. Summersville Lake is a major
recreation destination, attracting nearly 1 million
visitors annually. The Lake offers many
recreational opportunities including a campground,
beach, picnic shelters, playgrounds,
boat launch, marina, hiking trails, rock climbing,
fishing and hunting opportunities and
some of the most scenic views in the country.
HOWELL-BUNGER VALVE
SUMMERSVILLE DAM
Welcome to Summersville!
www.summersvillechamber.com
PO Box 567
One Old Wilderness Way
Carriage House
Summersville, WV 26651
304-872-1588
info@summersvillechamber.com
16 SUMMERSVILLE VISITORS GUIDE | SUMMERSVILLECVB.COM
http://www.summersvillechamber.com http://www.SUMMERSVILLECVB.COM
Summersville 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Summersville 2022
