Largest Reservoirs in Kentucky

Kentucky has 1017 dams with recorded storage capacity. The largest is Kentucky Dam with 7,535,400 acre-feet of maximum storage. One acre-foot equals about 326,000 gallons — enough to supply roughly two households for a year.

#	Dam	County	Max Storage (acre-ft)	Height (ft)	Purpose	Year
1	Kentucky Dam	Livingston	7,535,400	206	Flood Risk Reduction	1944
2	Wolf Creek Dam	Russell	6,089,000	258	Hydroelectric	1951
3	Barkley Lock And Dam	Lyon	2,082,000	157	Navigation	1966
4	Cannelton Locks And Dam	Hancock	954,400	62	Navigation	1974
5	Barren River Dam	Allen	815,150	146	Flood Risk Reduction	1964
6	John T. Myers Locks And Dam	Union	740,200	54	Navigation	1975
7	Green River Dam	Taylor	723,200	144	Flood Risk Reduction	1969
8	Markland Locks And Dam	Gallatin	640,700	118	Navigation	1964
9	Cave Run Dam	Bath	614,100	148	Flood Risk Reduction	1965
10	Captain Anthony Meldahl Locks And Dam	Bracken	609,800	138	Navigation	1965
11	Nolin River Dam	Edmonson	609,400	167	Flood Risk Reduction	1963
12	Newburgh Locks And Dam	Henderson	581,600	57	Navigation	1975
13	Mcalpine Locks And Dam	Jefferson	525,260	50	Navigation	1964
14	Laurel Dam	Laurel	435,600	282	Recreation	1973
15	Greenup Locks And Dam	Greenup	351,700	78	Navigation	1962
16	Rough River Dam	Grayson	334,400	132	Flood Risk Reduction	1959
17	Dix River Dam	Mercer	320,000	287	Hydroelectric	1925
18	Taylorsville Dam	Spencer	291,670	162	Flood Risk Reduction	1983
19	Buckhorn Dam	Perry	167,900	160	Flood Risk Reduction	1960
20	Fishtrap Dam	Pike	164,360	195	Flood Risk Reduction	1969
21	Grayson Dam	Carter	118,990	120	Flood Risk Reduction	1968
22	Yatesville Dam	Lawrence	83,300	156	Flood Risk Reduction	1988
23	Paintsville Dam	Johnson	73,500	160	Flood Risk Reduction	1980
24	Green River Lock And Dam 1	Henderson	62,400	23	Navigation	1970
25	Green River Lock And Dam 2	McLean	53,700	26	Navigation	1956
26	Carr Creek Dam Sediment Dam 2 - Littcarr	Knott	47,700	104	Other	1975
27	Cedar Creek Dam	Lincoln	47,344	86	Recreation	1999
28	Wood Creek Lake Dam	Laurel	44,000	172	Water Supply	1969
29	Green River Lock And Dam 3	Ohio	40,070	27	Water Supply	1836
30	Peter Cave Fresh Water Impoundment	Martin	33,617	290	Other
31	Dewey Dam - Brandykeg Dike	Floyd	31,000	41	Flood Risk Reduction	1950
32	Mud River Mps 51 - Lake Malone Dam	Muhlenberg	31,000	56	Flood Risk Reduction	1961
33	Kentucky River Lock And Dam 1	Carroll	25,290	35	Navigation	1839
34	Martins Fork Dam	Harlan	21,100	120	Flood Risk Reduction	1978
35	Kentucky River Lock And Dam 3	Owen	19,580	22	Navigation	1844
36	Doe Valley Lake Dam	Meade	18,450	97	Water Supply	1962
37	Cranks Creek Lake Dam	Harlan	18,200	120	Recreation	1963
38	Mud River Mps 6a	Logan	18,115	69	Flood Risk Reduction	1973
39	Beshear Lake Dam	Caldwell	17,837	38	Water Supply	1962
40	Ky River Lock & Dam 5	Woodford	17,390	36	Recreation	1844
41	Cannon Creek Dam	Bell	16,700	125	Water Supply	1972
42	Kentucky River Lock & Dam 6	Mercer	16,310	34	Navigation	1891
43	Buckeye Creek Dam	Perry	16,108	300	Water Supply
44	Kentucky River Lock And Dam 4	Franklin	15,860	27	Navigation	1844
45	Kentucky River Lock & Dam 9	Jessamine	15,030	36	Navigation	1907
46	Kentucky River Lock & Dam 8	Jessamine	14,020	31	Navigation	1900
47	Guist Creek Lake Dam	Shelby	13,944	60	Water Supply	1961
48	Middle Fork Impoundment	Martin	13,802	190	Tailings
49	Razorblade Branch Slurry Impoundment	Letcher	13,153	422	Tailings
50	Scotts Branch Slurry Impoundment	Pike	12,518	305	Tailings

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