A red sun low over Slim Lake through wildfire haze, its reflection a column of orange on the water

Reservoirs in Virginia

90 of 390 measured Virginia lakes (23%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 77 carry a High or Significant hazard rating.

Reading the Virginia reservoir landscape

90 reservoirs in Virginia appear in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. That's a meaningful share — reservoir lakes carry their own ecology and access patterns distinct from natural lakes, including managed water levels, drawdowns timed to the dam's purpose, and shoreline mix dominated by structures built post-impoundment.

Recreation is the headline purpose for the largest share of Virginia's reservoirs — lakes where the dam exists explicitly to create surface water for fishing, boating, and adjacent shoreline development. Pool levels are typically maintained more stably than at flood-control or hydro reservoirs, which supports fixed-dock access, consistent boat ramps, and the kind of shoreline economy that natural-lake counterparts in the state share.

The USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID) catalogs every dam in the United States above a size threshold — typically 25 feet in height or 50 acre-feet in maximum storage, plus all dams classified as high-hazard regardless of size. The reservoir records below pull NID fields (year built, hazard class, maximum storage, surface area at normal pool, dam length, primary purpose) and pair them with water-quality data where the impoundment also appears in EPA's lake-monitoring inventory.

Why these Virginia reservoirs were built

Recreation

Water Supply

Flood Risk Reduction

Hydroelectric

Other

Navigation

Total reservoirs

45,415

Total surface acres

1,849,134

Normal storage (ac-ft)

High or Significant hazard

All 90 Virginia reservoirs (by surface area)

Reservoir	County	Surface area	Year built	Purpose	Hazard
Dam Lake	Pittsylvania	20,400 ac	1964	Hydroelectric	High
Leesville Lakea-Topb-Middlec-Bot	Pittsylvania	3,270 ac	1963	Hydroelectric	High
Dam Lake	Franklin	2,880 ac	1953	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Dam Lake	Alleghany	2,530 ac	1978	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Diascund Reservoir Off Dam	New Kent	1,100 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Little Creek Reserv Sta Lake	James City	996 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Briery Creek Lake Sta	Prince Edward	810 ac	—	Recreation	High
Sandy River Lake	Prince Edward	740 ac	1983	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Carvins Cove Reservoir	Botetourt	568.8 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Near Spillway Lake Mooney	Stafford	518 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Emporia Lake	Emporia city	510 ac	1908	Hydroelectric	High
Lake Whitehurst	Norfolk city	480 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Lunga Reservoir	Stafford	474 ac	1956	Recreation	High
Hunting Run Reservior Lake	Spotsylvania	443 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Hunting Run Reservoir	Spotsylvania	443 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Lake Merriweather Goshen Dam Sidewall	Rockbridge	438 ac	—	Recreation	High
Near Dam Lake	Albemarle	410 ac	1965	Hydroelectric	High
Banister Lakesta	Halifax	400 ac	1921	Hydroelectric	Significant
Laurel Bed Lake	Russell	395 ac	—	Recreation	High
Lee Hall Reservoir	Newport News city	390 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Sta Lake	York	351 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Beaverdam Creek Reservoir	Loudoun	275 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Station Lake	York	274 ac	1919	Water Supply	High
Lake Culpeper	Culpeper	250.4 ac	—	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Great Creek Reservoir	Brunswick	238.34 ac	1989	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Smith Lake	Stafford	225 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Burke Lake	Fairfax	223 ac	—	Recreation	High
Martinsville Reservoir	Henry	206.4 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Speights Run	Suffolk city	197 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Mill Cr Reservoir	Amherst	194 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Northeast Arm of Mill Creek Lake	Amherst	194 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Mill Creek Reservoir	Amherst	194 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Northeast Reservoir	Louisa	187 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Abel Lake	Stafford	185 ac	—	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Fairy Stone Lake	Patrick	170 ac	—	Recreation	Low
Nottoway Lake	Nottoway	170 ac	—	Recreation	High
Above Dam Lake	Pulaski	167.8 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Talbott Reservoir	Patrick	165 ac	1938	Hydroelectric	High
Motts Run Reservoir	Spotsylvania	160 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Brunswick County Lake	Brunswick	160 ac	—	Recreation	High
Sta Big Cherry Reservoir East of Big Stone	Wise	156.1 ac	—	Water Supply	High
North Fork Pound Reservoir@Dam	Wise	154 ac	1966	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Swift Creek Lake Sta	Chesterfield	150 ac	—	Recreation	High
Station Lake	Pittsylvania	125.4 ac	—	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Pedlar River Reservoir	Amherst	125 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Hungry Mother Lake Sta	Smyth	124 ac	—	Recreation	High
Goose Creek Reservoir	Loudoun	120 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Lake Orange	Orange	120 ac	—	Recreation	High
Holiday Lake Sta	Buckingham	111 ac	—	Recreation	Significant
Holiday Lake Outside Swimming Area	Appomattox	111 ac	—	Recreation	Significant
Lake Keokee	Lee	108.6 ac	—	Recreation	High
Near the Dam Lake	Amelia	102 ac	—	Recreation	Low
Curtis Lake	Stafford	95 ac	—	Recreation	High
Near Boat Ramp Lake	Stafford	95 ac	—	Recreation	High
Falling Creek Lake	Chesterfield	92 ac	—	Recreation	High
Lake Frederick-Right Arm	Frederick	91 ac	—	Recreation	High
Rural Retreat Lake	Wythe	79.5 ac	—	Recreation	High
Mountain Run Lake	Culpeper	75 ac	—	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Witten	Tazewell	61.8 ac	—	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Fluvanna Ruritan Lake	Fluvanna	60 ac	—	Recreation	High
Hidden Valley Lake	Washington	59.7 ac	—	Recreation	High
Totier Creek Reservoir	Albemarle	58.4 ac	—	Water Supply	Low
Slate River Dam Scs Impoundment Lake	Buckingham	57.8 ac	—	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Wise Lake	Wise	57.7 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Near Dam Lake	Cumberland	52 ac	1939	Recreation	Significant
Station A-Chris Green Lake Sta A Alberm	Albemarle	51.8 ac	—	Recreation	High
Lake Laura	Shenandoah	44 ac	1971	Flood Risk Reduction	High
Lake Audubon	Fairfax	44 ac	—	Recreation	High
Keysville Reservoir-Charlotte	Charlotte	42.3 ac	—	Water Supply	Significant
Lake Nelson	Nelson	40.4 ac	—	Recreation	Significant
Townes Reservoir	Patrick	40 ac	1938	Hydroelectric	High
Lake Thoreau	Fairfax	40 ac	—	Recreation	High
Near Dam Lake	Colonial Heights city	38 ac	1920	Recreation	High
At Dam Lake Albemarle	Albemarle	38 ac	—	Recreation	High
Swift Creek Lake	Colonial Heights city	38 ac	1920	Recreation	High
Powhatan Lake	Powhatan	35 ac	—	Recreation	High
Prince Edward Lake-Near Dam	Prince Edward	27 ac	1946	Recreation	Low
Lake Robertson	Rockbridge	26 ac	—	Recreation	High
Lake Anne	Fairfax	24.8 ac	—	Recreation	High
Station Lake	Suffolk city	21.2 ac	—	Other	Low
Lake Newport	Fairfax	12 ac	—	Recreation	High
Dam Lake	Pulaski	11.59 ac	—	Other	Undetermined
Goodwin Lake-Near Dam-Prince Edward	Prince Edward	11 ac	—	Recreation	Low
Coles Run Reservoir	Augusta	5 ac	—	Water Supply	High
Lake Drummond Sta Mouth of Feeder Dit	Chesapeake city	—	—	Navigation	Undetermined
Lake Drummond Sta Mouth of Portsmouth	Chesapeake city	—	—	Navigation	Undetermined
Ut To Chk Lake	Hanover	—	—	Other	Undetermined
Bryants Pond	Sussex	—	—	Recreation	Undetermined
Off South Shore Lake	Richmond city	—	—	Recreation	Undetermined
Cohoke Millpond	King William	—	—	Recreation	Undetermined

Frequently Asked Questions

How many reservoirs are in Virginia?

90 of 390 measured Virginia lakes (23%) are man-made reservoirs in the USACE National Inventory of Dams. 77 are rated High or Significant hazard, meaning failure would put downstream lives or property at substantial risk. The oldest matched dam dates to 1908.

What's the largest reservoir in Virginia?

The largest matched reservoir in Virginia is Dam Lake in Pittsylvania County at 20,400 acres of normal surface area, impounded by the Smith Mountain Combination Pump Storage (completed 1964).

What's the difference between a reservoir and a natural lake?

A reservoir is a body of water impounded by a man-made dam — typically built for flood control, hydroelectric power, water supply, irrigation, or recreation. A natural lake formed without human intervention, usually from glacial scouring, volcanic activity, or river meandering. Reservoirs typically have shoreline that fluctuates with seasonal water level management, while natural lakes have more stable shorelines. The USACE National Inventory of Dams classifies every regulated dam in the United States, which is how we identify which LakeQuality lakes are actually reservoirs.

What does the hazard class mean?

USACE assigns each dam a hazard potential classification based on what would happen downstream if the dam failed — NOT how likely the dam is to fail. "Low" hazard means dam failure would cause no probable loss of life and only low economic loss. "Significant" means probable loss of life is unlikely but appreciable economic damage would occur. "High" means probable loss of life and significant economic damage. The classification is about consequence, not condition. Many High-hazard dams are perfectly safe; they're rated High because populated areas have grown downstream over time.

Where does this reservoir data come from?

Every reservoir record on this page is matched to the USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID), the federal database of all dams ≥25 ft tall or impounding ≥50 acre-feet, plus any dam that poses a Significant or High hazard regardless of size. The NID is published by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and updated annually. Surface area, storage capacity, dam height, and hazard classification come directly from NID records.

Where to stay near Virginia reservoirs

Compare cabins, lodges, and vacation rentals near the largest reservoirs in Virginia — live availability and prices for boating, fishing, and lake trips.

Top-rated places to stay near Virginia reservoirs

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More on reservoirs and water quality

Are Reservoirs Cleaner Than Natural Lakes?

Dam-built reservoirs and natural lakes compared side by side on the same nutrient and algae measurements — the gap, the reasons behind it, and the exceptions.

Do Deeper Lakes Have Better Water Quality?

Surveyed maximum depth against nutrient and algae readings: the pattern, the shallow lakes that still read clean, and why land use beats bathymetry.

Lake Water Quality Explained: What the Readings Mean

How nutrient and algae readings are read against EPA ecoregion condition classes, what each class means in the water, and why a clean reading is not a clearance.

Why Lakes Turn Green: Phosphorus and Nutrient Pollution

How phosphorus and nutrient runoff drive algae growth and turn lakes green, where the nutrients come from, and what it means for a lake’s readings.

Data source

Reservoir data from the USACE National Inventory of Dams (NID), the federal database of all regulated dams. Dam attributes (height, year completed, storage capacity, hazard class) are matched to LakeQuality lakes by proximity and dam-name similarity. Some lakes may be reservoirs that aren't matched if the dam record uses a name substantially different from our lake name.