Murcielago Lake Dam

About Murcielago Lake Dam

The primary purpose of Murcielago Lake Dam is recreation. The dam creates a reservoir used for recreational activities such as fishing, boating, and swimming. The dam is owned by Murcielago Enterprises, Llc (private). It impounds the Briery Creek.

The dam stands 41 feet tall and stretches 700 feet across, creates a reservoir covering 38 acres, has a maximum storage capacity of 874 acre-feet, and collects water from a drainage area of 1 square miles. Completed in 1900, the structure is over a century old.

This dam carries a high hazard potential classification, which means that a failure or uncontrolled release of water would likely cause loss of human life. This classification reflects the consequences of failure, not the likelihood — it indicates that people live or work in the area downstream. Notably, no emergency action plan is currently on file for this high-hazard dam. The most recent inspection on record was 05/14/1991. That was 34 years ago — unusually long for a high-hazard dam, which typically requires more frequent inspections.

At 41 feet, this dam is taller than 88% of dams nationwide.

Living Downstream

If you live or work downstream of this dam, consider taking these steps: learn your local evacuation routes, check whether your county emergency management office has a dam failure inundation map, and sign up for local emergency alerts. The Virginia dam safety program can provide more specific information about emergency planning for this structure.

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