Lake Moomaw

Gathright Dam is an earthen and rolled rock-fill embankment dam on the Jackson River 19 miles north of Covington, Virginia. The dam is 257 feet tall and 1,310 feet long and has a controlled spillway within the structure's southern portion. It creates Lake Moomaw, which has a normal volume of 40 billion US gallons. The dam serves flood control and recreational purposes and is operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.The Gathright Dam's intake tower contains nine portals that allow it to release water between reservoir depths of 12 to 87 feet. This allows the dam to manage the temperature and flow of water released downstream. This helps mitigate some of the negative environmental effects posed by the dam and manage fisheries downstream.