Lake Cumberland

Lake Cumberland
Lake Cumberland as viewed at Wolf Creek Dam
Location	Clinton, Laurel, McCreary, Pulaski, Russell, and Wayne Counties, Kentucky
Coordinates	36°53′20″N 85°3′0″W / 36.88889°N 85.05000°W / 36.88889; -85.05000
Primary inflows	Cumberland River
Primary outflows	Cumberland River
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	265.2 km2 (102.4 sq mi) (area at full pool)
Average depth	27.4 metres (90 ft)
Max. depth	60 metres (197 ft)
Surface elevation	220 metres (722 ft)

Lake Cumberland is a reservoir in Clinton, Laurel, McCreary, Pulaski, Russell, and Wayne counties in Kentucky. The primary reasons for its construction were a means for flood control and the production of hydroelectric power. Its shoreline measures 1,255 miles (2,020 km) and the lake covers 65,530 acres (265 km²) at the maximum power pool elevation. The reservoir ranks 9th in the U.S. in size, with a capacity of 6,100,000 acre feet (7.5 km³) of water, enough to cover the entire Commonwealth of Kentucky with 3 inches (76 mm) of water. The main lake is 101 miles (163 km) long and over one mile (1.6 km) across at its widest point.

The lake has become a major source of tourism and an economic engine for south-central Kentucky. As of September 2011 Lake Cumberland was approximately 43 feet (13 m) below its normal level due to leakage in the earthen part of the dam, but repairs were completed in 2013 and officials estimated that lake levels would be back to normal by 2014-2015. As of 4-18-2015 the lake is back to full summer pool.

Lake Cumberland was impounded from the Cumberland River by the United States Army Corps of Engineers' construction of the Wolf Creek Dam in 1952. Wolf Creek Dam is the 25th largest dam in the United States, and cost $15 million to construct originally, with an additional $65 million needed almost immediately to fix problems which soon became apparent. It is estimated that the dam has prevented more than $500 million in flood damage since its construction.

In 1967 a leak was found at the Wolf Creek Dam. Repairs were made in the late seventies at a cost of over $96 million.

On January 22, 2007, the United States Army Corps of Engineers began lowering the water level in Lake Cumberland, fearing a possible breach in Wolf Creek Dam. Water seepage had eroded the limestone under the dam, creating the potential for a breach and subsequent flood that would cause damages into the billions of dollars in cities downstream .