Overview
Beech Reservoir is a small TVA flood-control lake on the Beech River system in west Tennessee, one of eight companion reservoirs TVA built in the Beech River watershed. Beech Dam was completed in 1963; the project stores floodwater, supports local water supply and recreation, and does not generate hydropower. The dam stands about 39 feet high and 1,240 feet long and stores several thousand acre-feet of flood space for the Beech River watershed.
At normal pool the lake covers on the order of 800 acres and extends a few miles upstream from the dam. Timbered shoreline, creek arms, and a relatively compact basin give it a quiet, local-reservoir character compared with TVA's main-stem Tennessee River lakes. Flooded timber, creek channels, and a compact shoreline keep the lake intimate compared with main-stem TVA reservoirs.
Public access supports fishing and boating for bass, crappie, and other warmwater species managed with Tennessee wildlife partners, and adjacent public lands offer hiking and wildlife viewing. The Beech River cluster of small lakes is managed as a package for flood reduction and outdoor recreation. TVA and partner agencies also manage surrounding lands for wildlife and Canada goose habitat as part of the Beech River cluster.
Water levels are managed by TVA for flood storage, with a normal full-pool elevation near 335 feet above mean sea level. Elevations can rise into flood storage during heavy rainfall and then be drawn down, so monitoring current lake levels helps with ramp use and shoreline fishing. Because the project is dedicated to flood storage rather than hydropower, pool rises after storms can be noticeable before controlled drawdown.
Current Conditions
- Drought conditionsNo Drought
About This Lake
Learn how this lake is managed, what affects its water level, and where Lake Insights gets its data.
Beech Reservoir is a 800-acre reservoir on the Beech Creek / Beech River watershed managed by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).