Lake Anna is one of the largest freshwater inland reservoirs in Virginia, covering an area of, and located south of Washington, D.C. in Louisa and Spotsylvania counties. The lake is easily accessible from Fredericksburg, Richmond, Charlottesville, Northern Virginia, and Washington, D.C. and is one of the most popular recreational lakes in the state.
History
The reservoir is formed by the North Anna Dam on the North Anna River at. In 1968, Virginia Electric and Power Company purchased of farmlands in three counties along the North Anna and Pamunkey rivers to provide clean, fresh water to cool the nuclear power generating plants at the North Anna Nuclear Generating Station adjacent to the lake. By 1972 the lake bottom was cleared of all timber and the dam was nearing completion. It was projected to take three years to completely fill the lake, but with the additional rainfall from Hurricane Agnes, the lake was full in only 18 months. The first communities broke ground at about that same time and now some 120 different communities dot the shores of the lake. In June 1978, the first of the two reactors went into commercial operation. The second unit followed in December 1980.
Description
Lake Anna is approximately long from tip to tip, with of shoreline. The lake is divided into two sides: the public side and the private side, working as a cooling pond. The public side is roughly, while the private side is roughly. The private side is formed of three main bodies of water, connected by navigable canals. The public and private sides are divided by three stone dikes. The private side has no marinas or public access ramps; only property owners and North Anna Power Station employees have access to the waters of the private side. The public side has several marinas and boat launches, including a boat ramp at the state park. The public side sees significantly higher boat traffic than the private side, especially on summer weekends. The public side is known as the "cold" side because it provides water to cool the generators at the power plant; the private or "hot" side receives warm water discharge from the power plant. The private side can be substantially warmer than the public side, especially near the discharge point, where it can be too hot for swimming. The private side has an extended water sports season. Some water circulates back out of the private side into the public side through underground channels; consequently, the public side is warmer in the southern area near the dam. In the winter, some fish migrate to these warmer waters. Preliminary steps toward the addition of a third reactor have raised protests from environmentalists and property owners, who fear an increase in the water temperature and a decrease in the water level, particularly on the private side. According to Dominion, the water discharged from the plant is usually about warmer than the intake water.
North Anna Dam
The dam creating the lake, North Anna Dam, is a and earthen embankment dam. It is wide at its crest which sits at an elevation of above sea level. The dam's spillway is located in the center of its body and is wide, containing three main and radial gates. Two smaller wide and tall gates on the outer edges of the spillway section maintain normal discharges. Normal elevation for the reservoir is. The dam's hydroelectric power plant is located on the west side of the spillway and is supplied with water via a penstock. The plant consists of two small open runner turbine-generators, the larger with a 775 kW capacity and the smaller rated at 225 kW for a combined installed capacity of 1 megawatt.
Use and recreation
, offering picnic areas and boat launching ramps, is located directly on the lake's public side eastern shore. The park has a maintained beach area with snack bar, docks, an exhibit center and several miles of hiking, horse trails and tours including visits to the remains of Goodwin gold mine and gold panning. The state park offers rental cabins for overnight lodging.
Events
Lake Anna is the site of several major water-related events including: Rumpus in Bumpass, an annual spring triathlon festival, with an International/Olympic-distance race and a sprint-distance race held on consecutive days. The Kinetic Race weekend in May with a on Saturday and a on Sunday The Giant Acorn triathlon weekend in the fall, featuring an International/Olympic-distance triathlon followed by a sprint-distance triathlon on the next day.
