The Santeetlah Project, which began in 1925, was completed in 1928 by the Tallassee Power Company (now Tapoco).

The Santeetlah Dam forms Lake Santeetlah, a reservoir which covers approximately 2,881 acres (1,166 ha), normal full pool area, with a drainage area of 176 square miles (460 km2) and stretches to Robbinsville, North Carolina.

It is topped by concrete gatehouse which controls water flows into the five mile tunnel running to the Little Tennessee.

[2] The project's major elements were listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) maintains limited control over lake levels, as the piped output from Lake Santeetlah flows into Topoco's Santeethlah Power House at Rhymer's Ferry upstream from Cheoah Dam and just below Fontana Dam.