ELKWATER FORK DAM
In 1996, the United States Department of Agriculture commissioned a report under NRCS Contract No. 53-3D47-6-1 to study the Tygart Valley River Watershed after a severe drought occurred in 1993. The Upper Tygart Valley Partnership and Randolph County Water Resources Committee made substantial input into a final report entitled:
"Randolph County Water Resources Assessment and Implementation Plan"
This was prepared by MSES Consultants, Inc. and Gannett Fleming, Inc. The report included considerable input from several agencies and individuals including the Randolph County Commission, Tygart Valley Soil Conservation District, WV Soil Conservation Agency, and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. The communities in the study area included Elkins, Beverly, Dailey, East Dailey, Valley Bend, Mill Creek, Huttonsville, and smaller communities of Valley Head and Mingo to the south of Huttonsville. The report concluded that the greatest problem facing potable water systems in Central and South Central Randolph County is the reliability of the Tygart Valley River as a water source, and suggested the construction of a dam on the Elkwater Fork between Huttonsville and Valley Head.
Most Americans take drinking water for granted—turn on the faucet and water flows out. But residents in West Virginia’s southern Randolph County don’t have a reliable source of drinking water. They soon will because of a Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Public Law-566 project. The Elkwater Fork Dam, in the Upper Tygart Valley River Watershed, is a project to supply safe drinking water to 21,500 residents.
On November 23, 2011 the Elkwater Fork Dam had completed its filling to 98.21 feet and is seen in this photograph spilling over the top. This is one of the final steps Huttonsville PSD needs to begin the 700 GPM Potable Water Plant adjacent to the Elkwater Fork Water Supply Dam. With this being said the Huttonsville PSD will provide potable water to the residents in Valley Head, Mingo, Bell Crouch, Shavers Run portions of Becky's Creek and the Huttonsville Correctional Center.
Currently, the potable public water system provides potable water service to approximately 1,567 residential customers and 5 commercial and industrial customers. The estimated population served is 2,758 people, based upon the average household size of 2.41. The customer/population information utilized in this report was obtained from the WV Department of Health Sanitary Survey Report and current USA Counties profiles updated to November, 2006.