BirdTrout
Open the map
Bath County P S Lower Reservoir - Lower Dam, Virginia
Bath County P S Lower Reservoir - Lower Dam on Back Creek in Virginia.
Open in BirdTrout38.1973, -79.8068 · Bath County · NID VA017007. Tap the map to open this water in the live app.
What the runs do here
Back Creek carries no anadromous run on our corridor map, so this page makes no claim about salmon or steelhead at this dam. What it sits on is coldwater — resident trout water — and the section below says which classification says so.
The structure
- Owner
- Virginia Electric and Power Company Public Utility
- Purpose
- Hydroelectric
- Completed
- 1984
- Type
- Earth
- Height
- 170 ft
- Length
- 2400 ft
- Spillway
- Controlled
- Storage
- 30,500 acre-ft · 555 acre pool
- Drainage
- 73 sq mi
- Condition
- Satisfactory · High hazard potential
- Status
- Normal Operations
From the National Inventory of Dams (USACE). Hazard potential is a downstream-consequence classification, not a statement about the structure's condition.
The water above and below
- Beaver Run 0.59 mi from the dam · Class II · wild (VDWR)
- Sawmill Run 0.87 mi from the dam · Class II · wild (VDWR)
Coldwater designation is the state's own classification. A dam sits on one river and this list is every designated reach within a mile and a half of it, so a tributary mouth shows up here too.
Water right now
| Gauge | Distance | Temp | Flow |
|---|---|---|---|
| Back Creek near Mountain Grove, VA | 10.1 mi | 64.4 °F | 32 cfs |
| Jackson River near Bacova, Va | 11.4 mi | 64.0 °F | 26 cfs |
| Knapp Creek near Marlinton, Wv | 12.0 mi | 63.3 °F | 26 cfs |
Live from USGS. A gauge miles away is a gauge miles away — the distance column is there so you can discount it. A hydro dam's releases move the flow below it on a schedule the gauge sees and this page does not.
Getting to it
No listed public access site within 8 miles of this dam.
Fly shops nearby
- Casta Line Trout Farms 25.7 mi
- Walkabout Outfitters 34.7 mi