Bankhead Lake Water Level
Bankhead Lake is at 254.19 ft today (Oct 31), 0.81 ft below its 255 ft full pool, down 0.13 ft this week.
Alabama · Black Warrior River
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Water level history
About Bankhead Lake
Bankhead Lake is a reservoir on the Black Warrior River in Alabama, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 255 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Bankhead Lake's water level
The level here is set by a navigation pool, not a flood control curve. The Corps of Engineers runs Bankhead Lock and Dam at Black Warrior River mile 365.5 in Tuscaloosa County, and the project's normal operating range is only 252 to 255 feet, with the top of the dam at 270. Those three feet hold about 27,000 acre-feet spread across roughly 9,200 acres, so the lake rarely strays far from full pool. Inside that band, Alabama Power's single generating unit at the dam, rated near 54 megawatts and listed as a peaking plant under its federal license, pulls the pool down when it runs and inflow from the Mulberry and Locust forks brings it back. Below the dam the river sits far lower. Pool and tailwater readings typically sit about 68 feet apart, which is why the lock here has a 68 foot lift, the highest on the Black Warrior Tombigbee Waterway and four feet more than Holt Lock downstream.
Bankhead is the oldest dam on the river still doing its job. Congress authorized it in 1909 and the Corps built it between 1911 and 1915 as the last of 17 locks and dams that made the Black Warrior navigable from the Gulf to the Birmingham district. The first sixteen were sandstone and are long gone; Bankhead was concrete and survived, though its original two stage lift became a bottleneck. Alabama Power added a powerhouse in 1963, and by March 1969 the Corps had judged the old structure unsafe. Work in the late 1960s raised the spillway and replaced the two chamber lock with a single lift chamber 110 feet wide and 600 feet long, and the Corps lists the project as complete in 1975. A piece of the original lock still juts from the side of the dam. The hydro unit got its own overhaul more recently: the old turbine was lifted out in 2018 and a $17 million makeover added a new turbine built in York, Pennsylvania, along with new headgates, wicket gates and a control room.
State biologists describe a lake of two halves. The headwaters below Smith Dam run cold enough that the state stocks rainbow trout seven times a year, about 3,000 fish each time, and that upper end also holds catfish and sunfish. Hybrid striped bass of three to eight pounds are common in spring and fall in the swift water of the headwaters and the tailrace, and the seasonal skipjack herring run is described as tremendous. Largemouth bass up to 16 inches are abundant, with trophy potential in the backwaters, while spotted bass run 8 to 13 inches and bite best in the lower lake. Crappie grow large but are relatively scarce because of poor spawning success in recent years, and a 9 inch minimum length limit has been in place since 1993. The upper reservoir also produced the biggest fish in its history: on 28 February 2013 James Bramlett of Dora landed a 69 pound, 9 ounce striped bass near the warm water discharge of Alabama Power's Gorgas Steam Plant, which the state lists as both the Alabama record and the world record for inland striped bass.
Bankhead Lake — frequently asked
What is Bankhead Lake's full pool?
255 feet. That is the top of the Corps of Engineers' normal operating range, which runs from 252 to 255 feet, so the whole working band is only three feet deep. At 255 feet the reservoir holds about 296,000 acre-feet. The top of the dam itself is at 270 feet, and the old streambed at the dam is near 180 feet.
Why does Bankhead Lake's level change during the day?
Alabama Power's generating unit at the dam is licensed as a peaking plant, so it runs hardest when power demand is high and draws the pool down, then inflow refills it. Because the Corps must keep a navigation pool for barge traffic, those swings stay inside the 252 to 255 foot operating band. A reading a foot or so below full pool is normal and not a sign of drought.
What are the highest and lowest levels recorded at Bankhead Lake?
Over the roughly five years of data in this page's Recent gauge record, the highest reading is 255.31 feet and the lowest is 253.62 feet, both in 2026. That spread of under two feet reflects how tightly the pool is held for navigation. We could not confirm an all time record high or low from a published Corps or USGS source, so none is given here.
How big is the lock at Bankhead Dam?
The lock chamber is 110 feet wide and 600 feet long, the same size as the other locks on the Black Warrior Tombigbee Waterway. Its 68 foot lift is the highest on the waterway; Holt Lock, the next one downstream, is second at 64 feet. The single lift chamber replaced the original two stage lock, and the Corps lists the rebuilt project as complete in 1975.
Who owns Bankhead Dam?
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District, owns and operates the lock and dam. Alabama Power owns the hydroelectric plant, which has one unit with a nameplate capacity of about 54 megawatts and is licensed by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission through 2040. Bankhead is one of two Corps dams on which Alabama Power runs a turbine. Both the dam and the lake are named for Senator John Hollis Bankhead.
When was Bankhead Dam built?
The Corps built the original dam between 1911 and 1915 under a 1909 authorization. It was the last of 17 locks and dams on the river and the only one built of concrete rather than sandstone, which is why it is the only original still in service. Alabama Power added the powerhouse in 1963, and the spillway was raised and a new single lift lock built, with completion listed in 1975.
Was the world record striped bass caught on Bankhead Lake?
Yes. James Bramlett of Dora caught a 69 pound, 9 ounce striped bass in the upper reservoir on 28 February 2013, near the warm water discharge of the Gorgas Steam Plant. The Alabama Department of Conservation lists it as both the state record and the world record for inland striped bass. It beat the previous Alabama record by roughly 15 pounds.
Other lakes near Bankhead Lake
- Dannelly Reservoir (Millers Ferry)AL
- Woodruff Lake (Robert F. Henry)AL
- Demopolis LakeAL
- Wilson LakeAL
- Lake GuntersvilleAL
- Wheeler LakeAL
See current levels for all 21 Alabama lakes and reservoirs →
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