Sutton Lake was authorized by Section 4 of Flood Control Act of 1938. Primary project purposes are flood damage reduction, low flow augmentation and recreation. The dam was completed in June 1960 and serves a drainage area of 537 square miles. The lake is impounded by a concrete gravity dam, 210 ft. high and 1,178 ft. long, with a gated spillway located in the channel section of the dam. Spillway has a 50 ft. radius bucket and six tainter gates, hydraulically operated from a gallery in the dam, supported by 8 ft. piers.