Fall River Lake Water Level
Kansas · Fall River
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Water level history
About Fall River Lake
Fall River Lake is a reservoir on the Fall River in Kansas, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 948.5 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Fall River Lake's water level
Fall River Lake is built for one job and the proportions show it. The conservation pool at 948.5 feet holds about 20,700 acre-feet; the flood-control zone stacked above it, running 39 feet up to 987.5, holds about 224,000. That is roughly eleven times as much flood storage as conservation storage, and it means the ordinary condition of this lake during a wet spring is not full but far above full. In a typical year it runs fifteen to twenty-five feet over conservation pool at some point.
It has the gates to match: a concrete ogee spillway with eight tainter gates, each fifty feet wide and twenty-five high, rated at 280,640 cubic feet per second. Releases are governed downstream at Fredonia, Independence and Coffeyville rather than at the dam, and during a Verdigris flood the Corps deliberately minimises releases and lets the lake carry the water. The biggest event in the modern record is May 2019, when the pool hit 989.40 feet, nearly 41 feet above conservation pool and almost two feet over the top of the flood pool, on an inflow volume equal to 14.2 inches of runoff across the whole basin. The largest inflow ever recorded here was 105,000 cubic feet per second in June 1951, and in 1982 the lake rose about a foot an hour and washed the Ladd Bridge downstream.
Between floods it is a turbid, shallow lake with Secchi readings usually between one and two feet, and the murk is suspended clay rather than algae, which is why Fall River has essentially no blue-green algae history despite being nutrient-rich. Sediment is the slower threat: state assessments put capacity loss around a quarter since 1949, and one published projection has the lake half full of sediment by 2045. Twenty-eight watershed impoundments upstream now control about half the drainage, with more than eight hundred farm ponds besides.
Fall River Lake — frequently asked
What is Fall River Lake's full pool elevation?
The top of the conservation pool is 948.5 feet above sea level. The top of the flood-control pool is 987.5 feet and the top of the dam is 996.5. That gives 39 feet of flood storage above conservation pool, holding roughly eleven times as much water as the conservation pool itself.
Why is Fall River Lake so far above normal so often?
Because the lake is mostly flood pool. Conservation storage is only about 20,700 acre-feet against roughly 224,000 acre-feet of flood-control storage, so ordinary spring rain on the 585-square-mile watershed puts it well above 948.5. In a normal year it spends part of the season fifteen to twenty-five feet over conservation pool, and that is the design working as intended.
What is Fall River Lake's record high level?
989.40 feet on 25 May 2019, which is nearly 41 feet above conservation pool and almost two feet above the top of the flood-control pool. The inflow that month was equivalent to 14.2 inches of runoff across the entire drainage basin. The largest inflow ever recorded at the dam was 105,000 cubic feet per second in June 1951.
Why is the water at Fall River Lake so muddy?
Suspended clay, not algae. Secchi depth typically runs between one and two feet, and state water quality assessments attribute that turbidity to inorganic sediment rather than algal biomass. One useful side effect is that the murk suppresses algal growth, which is why Fall River has essentially no blue-green algae advisory history despite being a nutrient-rich lake.
Is Fall River Lake filling up with sediment?
It is losing capacity steadily. State assessments put the loss at roughly a quarter of original storage, based on a 1990 survey, and a published projection has the lake half full of sediment by 2045. Twenty-eight upstream watershed impoundments now control about half the drainage area, with more than eight hundred farm ponds besides, which slows but does not stop the process.
Where do you camp and launch at Fall River Lake?
The Corps runs Damsite Park, Whitehall Bay, Overlook and Rock Ridge Cove North; the state runs Fredonia Bay, Quarry Bay and Rock Ridge Cove South. Fall River State Park covers 1,107 acres with cabins and about ninety campsites, alongside an adjacent public wildlife area. Named park trails include Casner Creek, Turkey Run, Post Oak, Bluestem and Catclaw.
Other lakes near Fall River Lake
- John Redmond ReservoirKS
- Elk City LakeKS
- Marion ReservoirKS
- El Dorado LakeKS
- Melvern LakeKS
- Council Grove LakeKS
See current levels for all 12 Kansas lakes and reservoirs →
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