Flat Creek Reservoir

The Flat Creek Reservoir is a utility-owned impoundment located in Huntsville, the county seat of Scott County in northeastern Tennessee. Encompassing approximately 210 acres and holding roughly 1.25 billion gallons of water, it is the primary drinking water source for Huntsville Utility District (HUD) and serves as a regional water supply backbone for much of Scott County south of Oneida. The reservoir was completed in the spring of 2002 and is also open to the public for recreational use, including bank fishing, boat fishing, and kayaking.

History and Construction

Before the current reservoir was created, the Huntsville Utility District drew water from two sources: a smaller, pre-existing 35-acre lake on the same Flat Creek drainage and supplemental withdrawals from the New River. During the 1990s the water treatment plant was modernized and construction of the expanded Flat Creek Reservoir was undertaken, with the project completed in the spring of 2002. The new impoundment dramatically increased the district’s storage capacity, replacing the prior arrangement with a far larger and more resilient system capable of meeting the long-term needs of a growing service area.

The water treatment plant serving the reservoir is located at 300 Water Plant Road in Huntsville and is operated by the Huntsville Utility District. As of the early 2020s, HUD’s infrastructure included 11 pump stations, four elevated water tanks positioned across Scott County, more than 330 miles of water line, and over 5,000 active customer connections spanning households and nearly 200 businesses across most of Scott County south of Oneida.

Water Supply Role

The reservoir functions as the foundational water supply for Huntsville and the surrounding communities served by the Huntsville Utility District, which supplies water to much of Scott County outside the Town of Oneida. Under normal operating conditions, HUD pumps approximately 1.5 million gallons per day from the reservoir to serve its customer base. During drought periods or regional emergencies, this rate has reached upward of 2.2 million gallons per day, as neighboring utilities — including Oneida — have turned to HUD for supplemental supply.

The reservoir’s regional importance was demonstrated during the droughts of 2007 and 2016. In 2007 — the first major drought following the reservoir’s completion — water levels fell 10 feet below capacity. During the 2016 drought, HUD supplied emergency water to Oneida (after the Baker Watershed Lake was exhausted) as well as to the Plateau Utility District in Morgan County, underscoring how Flat Creek Reservoir functions as a de facto regional backup supply for the northern Cumberland Plateau.

Capacity Expansion

In June 2021, the Appalachian Regional Commission approved more than $300,000 in grant funding — part of a total $425,000 project — to expand the reservoir’s storage capacity by raising its water level approximately three feet. The project involved sealing existing overflow pipes, installing new overflow pipes at a higher elevation, and placing new riprap along the face of the dam structure. This relatively modest engineering intervention was projected to add approximately 50 million gallons of additional storage, equivalent to a 60- to 90-day supply buffer under drought pumping conditions. The effort was led by the Industrial Development Board of Scott County in partnership with HUD, Scott County and Huntsville municipal governments, Community Development Partners, and the TN Dept. of Economic & Community Development. The project was prompted in large part by lessons learned from the 2007 and 2016 droughts and by HUD’s increasing responsibility for supplying water to neighboring communities beyond its own service area.

Recreation

Although the reservoir’s primary function is as a public water supply, the Huntsville Utility District makes it accessible to the public for non-contact recreational activities. Bank fishing and boat fishing are permitted, with a public boat launch pad available on site. Recreational kayaking is also allowed. Gasoline-powered motors are prohibited, as is swimming, consistent with the site’s status as an active drinking water source. A Tennessee fishing license is required for anglers aged 13 and older.

The reservoir sits adjacent to Huntsville City Park, which is maintained by the Town of Huntsville and offers amenities including a racquetball court, softball field, walking trail, soccer field, playground, and picnic shelter. The combination of the park and the reservoir makes the site one of the primary outdoor recreation destinations within the town limits. The Huntsville Utility District reserves the right to close gate access to the reservoir without prior notice, as operational and water-quality conditions may occasionally require restricting public entry.

Regional Context

Huntsville, Tennessee (not to be confused with the larger city of the same name in Alabama), is the county seat of Scott County and sits on the northern Cumberland Plateau. The town is surrounded by extensive public lands, including the Big South Fork National River & Recreation Area — one of the largest national park units in the eastern United States — and the North Cumberland Wildlife Management Area, the second-largest tract of public land in Tennessee. The Flat Creek Reservoir draws on the natural hydrology of this heavily forested, high-elevation landscape, benefiting from the relatively pristine watershed conditions of the plateau. Scott County is also served, in its northern reaches around Oneida, by the separate Howard H. Baker Sr. Watershed Lake operated by Oneida Water & Wastewater, making the two reservoirs the twin pillars of the county’s public water infrastructure.