Lay Lake Water Level
Lay Lake is at 395.84 ft today (Oct 31), 0.16 ft below its 396 ft full pool, down 0.04 ft this week.
Alabama · Coosa River
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Water level history
About Lay Lake
Lay Lake is a reservoir on the Coosa River in Alabama, operated by Alabama Power. Its full summer pool sits at 396 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Lay Lake's water level
Lay Lake is the oldest of Alabama Power's reservoirs. The dam went up at the Coosa River site the Army Corps of Engineers had designated for Lock 12, between Chilton and Coosa counties near Clanton. Work began in 1912, the dam was finished on the last day of 1913, and it went into service on 12 April 1914 as the company's first hydroelectric plant. It was called Lock 12 Dam until November 1929, when it was renamed for William Patrick Lay, the Gadsden native who organized Alabama Power on 4 December 1906 and got congressional approval for a Coosa dam, signed by Theodore Roosevelt in March 1907. Lay had already handed the company to James Mitchell in 1912, before the dam was built. In 1967, as part of the company's Coosa River development, the dam was raised fourteen feet and the powerhouse modified. Today it is a concrete gravity dam 2,260 feet long and 129.6 feet high, with six generators of 29,500 kilowatts each.
The level barely moves because Lay is operated as a run of river lake. Alabama Power holds it near 396 feet all year, and it has no winter drawdown, unlike other Coosa reservoirs. Water released from Logan Martin Dam at the head of the lake passes through, and the powerhouse runs mostly at times of peak demand or when power prices are favorable, so readings stay close to 396. The lake stretches 48.2 miles from the Logan Martin tailwater down to the dam, covers about 12,000 acres, has 289 miles of shoreline and reaches 88 feet deep at the dam, draining 9,087 square miles. The real dips come from planned fall drawdowns, usually every other year, when the lake is lowered roughly three feet for about two weeks so owners can work on docks and seawalls, and from severe drought. In June 2007 Alabama Power lowered Lay to nearly three feet below normal, a step the company called unprecedented.
A lake held at full pool all year grows water willow along its banks, which the Coosa lakes with winter drawdowns lack, and that cover is part of why Lay hosted the Bassmaster Classic four times: 1996, 2002, 2007 and 2010. Kevin VanDam won the last of them with 51 pounds 6 ounces. State fisheries biologists describe spotted bass up to 18 inches as very abundant in the riverine upper lake, with largemouth best in the creeks and shallow sloughs. Since 1983 the state has stocked about 1.5 million Florida strain bass fry, and sampling has found Florida genes in 40 to 50 percent of the largemouth. The Logan Martin tailwater at the head of the lake is an excellent hybrid striped bass and catfish fishery. Lay and Mitchell lakes, along with the river below Jordan Dam, are the only known home of the rough hornsnail, federally listed as endangered in 2010, and biologists survey the exposed shoreline during drawdowns.
Lay Lake — frequently asked
What is Lay Lake's full pool?
396 feet above sea level. Because Lay is a run of river lake, Alabama Power keeps it close to that mark in every season rather than following a summer and winter guide curve. Small movements above or below 396 come from generation at Lay Dam and releases from Logan Martin Dam upstream. The highest reading in the site's record window since about 2020 is 396.46 feet, in 2022.
Does Lay Lake have a winter drawdown?
No. Lay stays at full pool through the winter, which sets it apart from the Coosa reservoirs that are lowered each winter. What it does have is a planned fall drawdown, normally every two years, when the lake is lowered about three feet for roughly two weeks in October so residents and contractors can reach the lakebed for permitted dock and shoreline work. Drought and weather have skipped some years; none took place between 2009 and 2013.
Why is Lay Lake low right now?
Almost always it is a scheduled fall drawdown. In 2023 Alabama Power lowered Lay from 396 to between 392 and 393 feet on 9 to 11 October, began refilling on 23 October and had it back to normal by the 25th. That drawdown accounts for the 392.34 foot low in the site's recent record. A drop outside October usually means severe drought, as in 2007, when Alabama Power drew the lower Coosa lakes down to save water.
How low did Lay Lake get in the 2007 drought?
In June 2007 Alabama Power lowered Lay one foot starting 4 June, then took it to nearly three feet below its normal 396 feet within two weeks, a move company spokesman Michael Sznajderman called unprecedented. Streams feeding the company's lakes were at their lowest levels ever recorded for that time of year. In September 2007 the company announced further lowering on Lay, Mitchell and Jordan to meet required downstream releases.
How long does it take Lay Lake to refill after a drawdown?
Usually within days to two weeks, because Lay is a pass through lake draining 9,087 square miles and only about three feet has to be put back. In 2009 refilling started 28 October and Lay was at 396 by the 30th. In 2013 refilling began 19 October and the lake was back to normal by the 31st; in 2023 it began 23 October and the lake was at 396 feet again by the 25th. Alabama Power posts each year's dates in advance on its Shorelines site.
Who was Lay Lake named after?
William Patrick Lay, a Gadsden native and longtime promoter of the Coosa River, who organized Alabama Power on 4 December 1906 and won congressional approval for a dam at Lock 12, signed by President Theodore Roosevelt in March 1907. He gave up ownership to James Mitchell in 1912. The dam went into service in 1914 under the name Lock 12 Dam and was renamed for Lay in November 1929.
How many times has Lay Lake hosted the Bassmaster Classic?
Four. George Cochran won in 1996 with 31 pounds 14 ounces, Jay Yelas in 2002 with 45 pounds 13 ounces, Boyd Duckett in February 2007 with 48 pounds 10 ounces, and Kevin VanDam in 2010 with 51 pounds 6 ounces. The 1996 and 2002 events were held in summer; the 2007 Classic was only the second ever held in late winter, with weigh ins at the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center.
Other lakes near Lay Lake
- Lewis Smith LakeAL
- Lake JordanAL
- Logan Martin LakeAL
- Holt LakeAL
- Lake MartinAL
- Lake Harding (Bartletts Ferry)GA/AL
See current levels for all 21 Alabama lakes and reservoirs →
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