Huntington District, West Virginia -- Beech Fork Lake (authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1962) is part of the integrated flood reduction system operated by the Corps of Engineers for the entire Ohio River Basin. When these lakes are operated as a vast storage system, flood crests along the Ohio can be significantly reduced. Beech Fork Lake opened for recreational activities in May 1978. Beech Fork Lake is near the community of Lavalette, Wayne County, West Virginia, approximately 10 miles south of Huntington.
Beech Fork Lake opened for recreational activities in May 1978. Beech Fork Lake is near the community of Lavalette, Wayne County, West Virginia, approximately 10 miles south of Huntington. The lake has a summer pool surface area of 720 acres. The dam was completed in 1977 and serves a drainage area of 78 square miles. The lake is impounded by a rolled earth-fill dam, 86 ft. high and 1,080 ft. long. The spillway is an uncontrolled 313 ft. concrete lined raceway and stilling basin. The intake structure has two gated sluices discharging through a split circle conduit into a stilling basin. The intake structure also has a dual selective withdrawal system controlled by a hydraulically operated gate.