COLUMBUS, Ga. - Lake Harding covers 5,850 acres of the Chattahoochee River about 15 miles north-northwest of downtown Columbus, while its Bartletts Ferry hydroelectric project includes a 2,052-foot dam and 187.1 megawatts of generating capacity. The reservoir crosses the Georgia-Alabama state line and has produced electricity since January 1926, making it part of a century of hydroelectric development along the river. Georgia Power operates the project, which has two powerhouses and parts dating to the 1920s.

Lake Harding sits in a chain of Chattahoochee River lakes that includes West Point Lake upstream and Lake Oliver closer to Columbus, both covered earlier by Columbus Times. Georgia Power counts Lake Harding among its West Georgia lakes, along with Lake Oliver, Lake Worth, Goat Rock Lake and North Highlands. Here are 15 numbers that explain Lake Harding's size, engineering, electrical output, history and public access.

The lake

1. 5,850 acres of water

Lake Harding, also known as Bartletts Ferry Reservoir, covers 5,850 acres at its normal water surface elevation, according to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission records published in the Federal Register in 2013. That equals about 9.1 square miles (5,850 / 640). Wikipedia gives the same 5,850 acres.

The Georgia side lies entirely in Harris County, while the Alabama shoreline is in Lee County, according to Wikipedia. FERC lists the project in Harris County, Ga., and Lee and Chambers counties, Ala. The Georgia-Alabama boundary follows the main channel along the lake's western side.

2. 520.16 feet above sea level

The lake's normal water surface elevation is 520.16 feet above mean sea level, according to the 2013 Federal Register notices. Georgia Power normally operates the reservoir between 518.16 and 520.16 feet, creating a 2-foot operating range. Federal records describe normal daily average water-level fluctuations of approximately three-quarters of a foot.

Federal records say the project is operated in a peaking mode. That operation is coordinated with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' West Point Dam upstream. Georgia Power runs the project under a FERC license.

3. More than 100 feet deep near the dam

Lake Harding reaches a depth of more than 100 feet near Bartletts Ferry Dam, according to Wikipedia. That is the depth at the dam itself, not an average. The lake also receives water from Osanippa Creek and Halawakee Creek on the Alabama side and Mountain Oak Creek on the Georgia side.

Mountain Oak Creek flows from Piedmont Lake near Whitesville, according to Wikipedia. The same source identifies R.M. Harding, a power company official, as the person for whom the lake was named. Wikipedia also reports that Auburn University's club rowing team has used the reservoir as a practice site.

The dam

4. A 2,052-foot-long dam

The Bartletts Ferry project includes a 2,052-foot-long dam, two powerhouses and the 5,850-acre reservoir, according to the Federal Register. The original dam stretched 1,975 feet when completed in the mid-1920s, including 634 feet of concrete spillway and 92 feet of intake, according to the Historic American Engineering Record. The longer 2013 FERC figure describes the project after later work, including a 1985 east-side addition with a new intake canal and dike.

5. Up to 125 feet high

The tallest structure listed in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's description is the east-side earth-fill structure, which stands 125 feet high and stretches 915 feet. The west-side concrete gravity intake rises 94 feet and measures 92 feet long. Federal records do not assign one overall height to the entire dam.

6. 19 spillway gates

Bartletts Ferry's main concrete spillway contains 19 radial gates, each measuring 25 feet wide and 21 feet high, according to federal project records. The spillway itself stretches 634 feet along the west side of the development. The Historic American Engineering Record says the dam had 19 tainter gates when first completed. Farther west, a 1,230-foot auxiliary labyrinth spillway with 22 bays stands 11.25 feet high.

The power

7. 187.1 megawatts of generating capacity

Georgia Power currently lists Bartletts Ferry's generating capacity at 187.1 megawatts on its hydroelectric facilities page. That makes Bartletts Ferry the largest generating facility in the company's Chattahoochee hydro group. The company lists Lake Oliver at 60.1 megawatts, Goat Rock at 40.5, North Highlands at 29.6 and Flint River at 5.4.

Those five total 322.7 megawatts, so Bartletts Ferry makes up about 58% of the group (187.1 / 322.7). Flint River sits on a different river, but Georgia Power includes it in the group. The total is a Columbus Times calculation from the company's figures.

8. Six generating units

Federal records from 2013 describe four west-side generating units with a combined capacity of 65 megawatts. Three used 15-megawatt Francis turbines, while the fourth had a 20-megawatt rating. The east powerhouse contained two additional generating units rated at 54 megawatts each.

That made 173 megawatts in all (65 + 108) in the 2013 filings. In 2022, Georgia Power asked FERC to approve new turbine runners and rehabbed generators for the four west units, adding 13.65 megawatts. That math gives 186.65 megawatts, close to the 187.1 the company now lists.

9. 395,577 megawatt-hours annually

The Federal Register's 2013 description gives Bartletts Ferry an average annual generation of approximately 395,577 megawatt-hours. That figure measures electricity produced over a year, not the plant's maximum capacity. The 2022 upgrade proposal also included new trashracks at the west powerhouse, and three units were set to receive aerating runners to raise dissolved oxygen in the water.

The history

10. 2,400 construction workers

The Columbus Electric and Power Company developed the Bartletts Ferry project between 1922 and 1926, according to the National Park Service's Historic American Engineering Record. Stone and Webster of Boston designed and built the project, with Charles T. Main serving as consulting engineer and L.V. Branch as superintendent. Construction began with reservoir preparation in 1924, including a 1,200-foot cofferdam. At one point, the construction workforce reached 2,400 people, including African American workers. Workers lived in a segregated camp on the Alabama side of the river.

11. January 25, 1926, first electricity

Bartletts Ferry's first generating unit began operating Jan. 25, 1926, according to the Historic American Engineering Record. The second unit followed Feb. 26, 1926, and the third entered service Sept. 11, 1928. A fourth unit, rated at 20,000 kilowatts, began operating Dec. 15, 1951.

That fourth unit brought the original powerhouse's generating capacity to 65,000 kilowatts, or 65 megawatts. Georgia Power describes the dam as completed in 1925, while the engineering record places the first electricity generation in January 1926. Wikipedia says Georgia Power bought the company in 1930.

12. 1985 expansion worth $104.6 million

A $104.6 million expansion in 1985 added the east-side powerhouse, two generating units, an intake canal and a dike. Unit 5 began commercial operation Oct. 1, 1985, and Unit 6 followed Nov. 1, 1985. Those additions increased the project's capacity to 173,000 kilowatts.

Earlier improvements between 1946 and 1951 included concrete spillway buttresses, higher dikes and a fourth penstock. Hardaway Construction Co. of Columbus performed some of that work, according to the engineering record. The original 1925 gantry cranes were also documented before replacement, with newer cranes measuring 9 feet wider and 12 feet taller.

Getting there and recreation

13. About 15 miles from downtown Columbus

Bartletts Ferry Dam sits approximately 15 miles north-northwest of downtown Columbus in a straight line, based on coordinates documented in the Historic American Engineering Record. The record identifies the project near 1471 Bartletts Ferry Road in the Fortson area of Harris County. That is a straight-line distance, not a driving distance.

Georgia Power maintains its West Georgia Lake Resources Office at 1516 Bartletts Ferry Road, Fortson, GA 31808. The office can be reached at 706-322-0228. Georgia Power says it is the largest non-governmental provider of recreation facilities in Georgia, managing more than 100,000 acres around its lakes and rivers.

14. 6111 Lickskillet Road for Blanton Creek Park

Georgia Power's Blanton Creek Park is at 6111 Lickskillet Road in Hamilton, and its reservation map labels a Lake Harding Overlook Pavilion. The company lists camping, a playground, picnic areas, boat ramps, fishing, swimming, trails and restrooms. The reservation page adds primitive campsites, fishing piers, laundry, hot showers and a dump station. The campground is open seasonally, and checkout is by 1 p.m. The park's phone number is 706-643-7737.

15. About 25 river miles from Bartletts Ferry to Columbus

The Historic American Engineering Record places Goat Rock Dam about 13 miles south of Bartletts Ferry and about 12 miles north of Columbus. Adding those distances gives approximately 25 river miles between Bartletts Ferry and Columbus. Goat Rock, completed in 1913, is another hydroelectric development along this section of the Chattahoochee.

## How we did this Columbus Times compiled this report using Federal Register notices concerning Georgia Power's Bartletts Ferry Project No. 485, including filings from 2013 and 2022, and the National Park Service's Historic American Engineering Record No. GA-166. We also used Georgia Power's hydroelectric facility information, West Georgia lake resources and reservation pages, along with Wikipedia for selected geographic, historical and depth details identified in the article. All source information was reviewed Oct. 28, 2026, and calculations involving acreage, generating capacity, percentages and distances are Columbus Times calculations based on the cited figures.