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Fact Sheet

Upper Tygart Valley River Watershed Project

Elkwater Fork Water Supply Dam
Randolph and Pocahontas Counties, West Virginia
Project Sponsors and Partners
  • Upper Tygart Valley Watershed Partnership
  • Randolph County Commission
  • Town of Huttonsville
  • West Virginia Conservation Agency
  • USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
  • Huttonsville Public Service District
  • Town of Beverly
  • Town of Mill Creek
  • City of Elkins
  • Tygarts Valley Conservation District

Project History
The purpose of the Upper Tygart Valley River Watershed Project is to assure a dependable source of potable water for all residents from Elkins to Mingo. After extensive studies and alternatives analyses, the recommended solution was to construct a water supply impoundment on Elkwater Fork, a tributary of the Upper Tygart Valley River. The Upper Tygart Valley Watershed Partnership worked with the project sponsors and partners to secure over $35 million to plan, design, and construct this project. The USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) will fund 75 percent of the construction cost, while the West Virginia Conservation Agency and the Tygarts Valley Conservation District will fund 25 percent of the construction cost and will acquire land needed for the project. The Huttonsville Public Service District is seeking funds to construct a water treatment facility near the reservoir and to construct water transmission lines to convey treated water to local communities.

Summary of Elkwater Fork Water Supply Dam

  • Location: Elkwater Fork - approximately 1¾ miles west of US Route 219
  • Estimated installation cost: $35,200,000 for design, land acquisition, and construction
  • Drainage area above dam: 8.4 square miles
  • Type and size of dam: 123 feet high, roller compacted concrete (RCC) dam
  • Size of reservoir: 54 acres

Project Installation

  • Design Firm
    Gannett Fleming, Inc., Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
    Design completed January 2006
  • Site Clearing: Contractor
    ERS, Inc., Jackson, Mississippi
    Work to be completed May 2006
  • Dam Construction Contractor
    Heeter Construction, Inc., Spencer, West Virginia
    Work to begin May 2006 and scheduled to be completed December 2008

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