Lake Mitchell Water Level
Lake Mitchell is at 311.27 ft today (Oct 31), 0.73 ft below its 312 ft full pool, down 0.03 ft this week.
Alabama · Coosa River
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Water level history
About Lake Mitchell
Lake Mitchell is a reservoir on the Coosa River in Alabama, operated by Alabama Power. Its full summer pool sits at 312 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Lake Mitchell's water level
Lake Mitchell is the second dam Alabama Power ever finished and the second oldest of the company's fourteen hydro plants. Work began in July 1921, the dam was dedicated that December, and it went into service on August 15, 1923, at Verbena on the Coosa, straddling the Chilton and Coosa county line between Lay Dam upstream and Jordan Dam downstream. It carries the name of James Mitchell, an electrical engineer who came to Alabama in 1911 to size up its hydropower potential and ran the company from 1912 to 1920. The concrete gravity dam is 1,277 feet long and 106 feet high, and it backs the river up 14 miles into a 5,850 acre lake with 147 miles of shoreline and about 90 feet of water at the dam. The two banks look nothing alike: the Chilton County side to the west is lined with homes and docks, while much of the east side stays wooded because it lies inside the Coosa Wildlife Management Area. Weogufka, Hatchet, Walnut, Yellow Leaf and Cargile creeks feed the main channel.
Mitchell is a run of river project. Unlike Weiss, Neely Henry and Logan Martin upstream, it has no winter pool and no flood storage to speak of, so whatever the Coosa delivers from its 9,827 square mile watershed passes through the turbines or over the spillway, and the lake sits near 312 feet all year. The hourly record Alabama Power reports to the Corps of Engineers since 2004 bears that out: about 97 percent of readings fall between 311 and 312.5 feet, and the genuine high in that record is only about 312.5 or 312.6. The plant you see today mostly dates from 1985, when three new units totaling 150,000 kilowatts went into a new powerhouse on the west bank, the three original 1923 units were retired, and the 1949 unit 4 was kept, lifting capacity from 72,500 to 170,000 kilowatts. The next big job is the spillway. In spring 2025 Alabama Power began a multiyear replacement of all 23 original gear driven gates, which needed two operators and could only be fully open or fully shut.
The only time Mitchell drops noticeably is a planned shoreline drawdown, which Alabama Power schedules roughly every five years so owners can repair docks, piers, boathouses and seawalls on exposed lakebed. The lake is lowered three or four feet to about 308 or 309 in early October and held for roughly two weeks: October 2013, the first since 2009 because wet years kept getting in the way, then October 2018, then late September 2023, when it bottomed near 308.4 on October 8 and was back to normal by October 11. The gauge shows the same shape in 2005, 2007 and 2009. State biologists list spotted and largemouth bass, black and white crappie, bluegill, redear and three kinds of catfish over threadfin and gizzard shad. Their 2010 sampling found largemouth overtaking spotted bass, spotted bass in exceptional condition, and crappie growth well above state averages, while white crappie had declined. The state now stocks hybrid striped bass. Public launches are at Higgins Ferry Park on the west side, a Chilton County park about ten miles east of Clanton, and Barrett's Fish Camp on the east side.
Lake Mitchell — frequently asked
What is Lake Mitchell's full pool?
312 feet above sea level, the figure Alabama Power publishes for the lake. Because Mitchell is run of river, that is less a target to refill toward than the level the lake simply holds. In practice the reading wanders between about 311 and 312.5 feet as generation at the dam follows inflow from Lay Lake, and it has spent about 97 percent of the hours since 2004 inside that band.
What are Lake Mitchell's record high and low levels?
Leaving out obvious one hour glitches, the hourly record since 2004 tops out around 312.5 feet, such as 312.55 during a short rise on April 7, 2014. That is barely half a foot over full pool, because flood water goes out through the spillway instead of being stored. The lowest real readings, about 308.1 to 308.2 feet, came in the October 2005 and October 2009 shoreline drawdowns. The gauge on this page covers recent years only: its low of 308.4 feet is the 2023 drawdown, and its high of 312.58 feet came in 2026.
When is the next Lake Mitchell drawdown?
Mitchell has been lowered about every five years, most recently in fall 2023, when Alabama Power took it from 312 to 308 or 309 feet between September 25 and 27, started refilling October 9 and had it back to normal October 11. Earlier rounds came in October 2013 and October 2018. Shoreline work during a drawdown still needs an Alabama Power permit, and the company posts schedules on its Shorelines site ahead of time.
How much power does Mitchell Dam produce?
Four units totaling 170,000 kilowatts. Unit 4, rated at 20,000 kilowatts, has run since 1949. Units 5, 6 and 7, rated at 50,000 kilowatts each, went into a new west bank powerhouse in 1985 and replaced the three original 1923 units, which together made 52,500. A 1,140 foot floating boom keeps debris off the newer intakes. Mitchell is licensed by FERC as part of the seven dam Coosa River Project, No. 2146.
Is the Coosa River license for Mitchell Dam still in effect?
Its status has been unsettled. FERC issued a single new license for the seven Coosa dams, Mitchell included, in 2013, but the D.C. Circuit vacated it in 2018 for failing to weigh the river's existing environmental damage, including low dissolved oxygen and effects on endangered species. The dams kept operating under prior authority, and FERC staff issued a final supplemental environmental impact statement in October 2023 recommending a new license.
What fish are in Lake Mitchell?
Alabama spotted bass and largemouth bass are the main draw, with largemouth holding along dense water willow beds and spotted bass on points, humps, ledges and rock piles. Crappie stack on shallow wood in spring and showed excellent growth in state sampling. Bluegill, redear and channel, blue and flathead catfish round it out, and the state stocks hybrid striped bass. Walleye and striped bass were stocked in the past, starting in 1980.
Other lakes near Lake Mitchell
- Neely Henry LakeAL
- Lake MartinAL
- Pickwick LakeAL/TN/MS
- Logan Martin LakeAL
- Walter F. George Reservoir (Lake Eufaula)GA/AL
- Lewis Smith LakeAL
See current levels for all 21 Alabama lakes and reservoirs →
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