A recent band of devastating rain and snowstorms that affected communities in Southern West Virginia, Southwestern Virginia and Eastern Kentucky required the Huntington District to increase its operational response to manage water releases and minimize flood risks throughout the New and Kanawha River basins.
Bluestone Dam stored a significant wave of water, releasing this storage in a manner that minimized flooding along the New and Kanawha Rivers.
Bluestone Lake crested against Bluestone Dam on 18 Feb 2025 at 1500 at an elevation of 1485.09 feet (the 6th highest pool of record) utilizing 52% of its storage capacity. Bluestone Dam reduced flooding in combination with Summersville and Sutton Lakes along New and Kanawha Rivers. At Hinton, Bluestone Dam reduced flooding by about 5 feet. At Kanawha Falls, Bluestone Dam in conjunction with Summersville Dam reduced flooding by about 7 feet. At Charleston, flooding was reduced by all three dams by over 6 feet. With the projected storm, Bluestone Lake will stay above winter pool for the next couple weeks.
During this time Bluestone Dam performed as designed although the lake will be at an elevated position from its winter pool (1406 feet) for several weeks. These flood waters brought a large debris field to Bluestone Lake, so boaters are reminded to be aware of and stay back from for their safety.