The reservoir is the primary water supply for the city of Wilson.

[1] The reservoir at that time had the ability to contain 800 million US gallons (3,000,000 m3) of water.

In 1999, a new dam was constructed downstream from the older dam creating the new Buckhorn Reservoir which covers an area of 2,300 acres (9.3 km2) and has a capacity of 7 billion US gallons (26,000,000 m3) when fully filled.

The dam is one-half mile long and was built with expansion in mind.

The outflow travels down Contentnea Creek to the Wiggins Mill reservoir, where the water is treated at the Wiggins Mill Water Treatment Plant.