Yatesville Lake was authorized by Section 204 of Flood Control Act of 1965. Primary project purposes are flood damage reduction, low flow augmentation, water quality and recreation. The dam was completed in 1988 and serves a drainage area of 208 square miles. The lake is impounded by a rock-fill dam with a central impervious core, founded on in-situ overburden, 105 ft. tall and 760 ft. long, with an uncontrolled broad-crested spillway.