John H. Kerr project

John H. Kerr Dam is located about 179 river miles above the mouth
of the Roanoke River.  It is in Mecklenburg County, Va and about
20 miles downstream of Clarksville, Va.

John H. Kerr project is authorized for recreation, flood control,
hydroelectric power generation, fish and wildlife, and water
supply.  These purposes are described further below.

John H. Kerr Dam includes a concrete gravity dam with a gated spillway
and flanked by earth dikes and a powerhouse and switchyard.   The top
elevation of Kerr Dam is 322 feet, msl and has an overall length of
2,785 feet.  The maximum height above the streambed is 144 feet.  The
spillway has a crest elevation of 288 feet, msl and a total length
of 1,092 feet.  It is crested with 22 tainter gates, each 42 feet
wide by 32 high.

The powerhouse has six vertical shaft Francis turbines rated at
32,000 kw each, one unit at 12,000 kw and two small units rated
at 1,000 kw each for a total installed capacity of 206,000 kw.

Kerr Reservoir at elevation 300 feet, msl covers an area of 48,900
acres and has a shoreline length of 800 miles.  Kerr Reservoir
extends into Mecklenburg, Charlotte and Halifax counties in Virginia
and Granville, Vance and Warren counties in North Carolina.



          John H. Kerr Authorized and Operating Purposes

 Operating Purposes         Authorized Purposes       Authorizing Laws
    Recreation               Recreation                   PL 78-534
                             Low Flow Augmentation        PL 78-534
    Water Supply             Water Supply                 PL 85-500
    Flood Control            Flood Control                PL 78-534
    Hydroelectric Power      Hydroelectric Power          PL 78-534
    Fish/Wildlife            Fish/Wildlife                PL 85-624

Note:  John H. Kerr is not regulated for low flow augmentation 
since the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission assigned that 
requirement to the two Virginia Power Company projects located 
downstream.  These projects, Gaston and Roanoke Rapids, are 
operating under project licence no. 2009.


Public Laws Cited

 Public Law     Date         Statute      Popular or Common Name
 PL 78-534  Dec. 22, 1944  58 Stat 887    Flood Control Act of 1944
 PL 85-500  July  3, 1958  72 Stat 297    River and Harbor Act of 1958 (Title I)
                           72 Stat 305    Flood Contro Act of 1958 (Title II)
                           72 Stat 319    Water Supply Act of 1958 (Title III)
 PL 85-624  Aug. 12, 1958  72 Stat 563    Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act