Blakely Dam - Lake Ouachita
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Blakely Mountain Dam was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1944. Construction began in 1948 and ended in 1953 when the gates where closed, creating Lake Ouachita. Power production began in August of 1955. The power station is open to visitors Monday - Friday between 9 am and 4 pm. You can view photographs from the construction period, the control room and the two turbines. The generators are capable of producing 75,000 kilowatts. In 1984 produced 417 million kilowatts. Constructed and operated by the Corps of Engineers, US Army, Vicksburg District, Vicksburg Miss.
Blakely Dam itself is composed of rolled earth, almost four million cubic yards of earth. It is 231 feet high and 1100 feet wide. The optimum lake level is 578' above sea level. If the level reaches 592' the water would flow through an emergency 200 feet wide spillway located one mile west of the dam and then into Lake Hamilton. This has never happened since the gates where closed in 1953 however in December 1982 - January 1983, the lake did reach 591.2 feet, just .8 of a foot short of going through the spillway.
The COE area covers 82,000 acres. At 578 feet, 40,100 acres of the project is covered by the lake. 690 miles around the shoreline. At 592 ft above sea level it would be 975 miles around the shoreline and the flood control pool would be 48,300 acres. Drainage area is 1105 sq. miles. Total storage capacity 2,768,000 acre feet. (One acre foot equals one acre of water one foot deep). The hills that surround the lake range up to 1,350'.
Beautiful Lake Ouachita is located in Garland and Montgomery Counties, Arkansas, 13 miles west of Hot Springs. The lake was formed by the COE damming the Ouachita River in 1953. It is one of the cleanest lakes in the nation. Provides a variety recreational opportunities for fishing, scuba diving, skiing, sailing, boating but also provides hydroelectric power and flood control. Camping and hiking trails abound in the Ouachita National Forest. Trophy striped bass and largemouth bass are common pursuits at Ouachita, but this is also one of the state's top producers of bream, heavyweight catfish, white and spotted bass, crappie, and walleyes.
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