Nolin River Lake is a multipurpose flood control project operated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in which runoff from the lake’s 703-square-mile watershed flows through the dam’s conduit into the Nolin River below. Hydraulic gates in the control tower are raised or lowered to regulate water passing through the dam, reducing downstream flooding during high water and later releasing stored water to return the lake to proper elevation. Water passes the gates, moves through the conduit and stilling basin, and enters the river below, where concrete baffle blocks known as “dragons teeth” break up the flow and prevent erosion. Completed in 1963 at a cost of $14.5 million, Nolin River Dam has prevented more than $99 million in downstream flood damage. The highest recorded lake level came in May 2011, when the lake stood 44.7 feet above normal summer pool at 515 feet mean sea level. The dam is 166 feet high and 980 feet long, built with 1,536,136 cubic yards of material. Its emergency spillway is 300 feet wide, 1,100 feet long, and 75 feet deep, with an elevation of 560 feet, 21 feet lower than the top of the dam so that water will never overtop it. The conduit is 600 feet long and 18 feet in diameter. Hydraulic gates are 7 1/2 feet wide, 14 feet tall, and weigh 10 tons each, while bypass gates 36 inches in diameter release small amounts of water. Water flow in the stilling basin can reach 10,000 cubic feet, or 78,000 gallons, per second. In addition to flood control, Nolin River Lake provides recreation for more than 2 million visitors each year, with three Corps of Engineers campgrounds at Moutardier, Wax, and Dog Creek, along with Corps parks, Nolin State Park, and three marinas for boating, water skiing, swimming, fishing, and hunting.