Pipestem Lake Water Level
Pipestem Lake is at 1,442.72 ft today (Oct 31), 0.22 ft above its 1,442.5 ft full pool, down 0.24 ft this week.
North Dakota · Pipestem Creek
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Water level history
About Pipestem Lake
Pipestem Lake is a reservoir on the Pipestem Creek in North Dakota, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 1442.5 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Pipestem Lake's water level
Pipestem Lake is mostly empty space, and that is by design. The Corps of Engineers built the dam on Pipestem Creek about four miles north of Jamestown between 1971 and 1973, and the Omaha District still owns and runs it. Normal water sits at 1,442.5 feet, which is the crest of the service spillway and the top of a small multipurpose pool holding about 8,354 acre-feet. Above that line the reservoir reserves 135,040 acre-feet of exclusive flood storage, more than sixteen times the permanent pool, reaching up to the emergency spillway crest at 1,496.3 feet. The design maximum surface is 1,502.8 feet and the top of the dam is 1,507.5 feet. The embankment is about 4,000 feet long and stands 107.5 feet above the streambed, and it controls 594 square miles of drainage. So when the gauge climbs ten, twenty or thirty feet in spring, the lake is doing its job, not misbehaving.
The dam works in tandem with Jamestown Reservoir on the James River, and the Corps plans releases from the two together because they meet in town. Combined flows above about 450 cubic feet per second start to matter in Jamestown, so water is let out slowly. A typical sequence, described in a 2016 Corps release plan, is to drain Jamestown's flood storage first by June 1 and empty Pipestem through June, July and August. Under an agreement with the North Dakota Game and Fish Department, the Corps does not begin lowering Pipestem toward 1,442.5 feet until June 1 and keeps releases gradual into September to protect spawning fish. In winter the pool usually rests near 1,441 feet. That schedule explains the shape of a normal year on the chart: a sharp rise during snowmelt, a long plateau, then a slow summer decline.
The record came in the 2009 flood. Pipestem crested at 1,492 feet in late April, about four feet below the earthen emergency spillway, with peak daily inflow of 9,200 cubic feet per second. The Corps estimated that Pipestem and Jamestown dams together prevented about $70 million in damage in Jamestown that spring. In 2022 snowmelt lifted the pool to about 1,478 feet before releases of 600 cubic feet per second began bringing it down over the summer. That emergency spillway, which has never carried water, was judged an erosion and breach risk because it was cut through erodible sand, gravel and weathered shale. The Corps classified the dam as high hazard and spent about $250 million over three years building a concrete labyrinth crest, stepped chute and stilling basin, with a ribbon cutting in May 2026. On the water, the main ramp and its parking lot flood at about 1,465 feet; the Parkhurst area has an alternate ramp.
Pipestem Lake — frequently asked
What is Pipestem Lake's normal pool level?
1,442.5 feet above sea level. That is the top of the multipurpose pool and the crest of the service spillway, holding about 8,354 acre-feet. In winter the lake typically sits a little lower, around 1,441 feet. Anything above 1,442.5 feet is water stored in the flood pool, which the Corps of Engineers releases on a planned schedule once spring runoff passes.
How high can Pipestem Lake rise?
The flood control pool tops out at 1,496.3 feet, the crest of the emergency spillway, more than 50 feet above normal pool. Between those two elevations the reservoir holds 135,040 acre-feet of flood storage. The design maximum water surface is 1,502.8 feet, and the top of the dam is 1,507.5 feet. The Corps steps up dam safety surveillance once the pool reaches 1,470 feet.
What is the record high at Pipestem Lake?
About 1,492 feet, set in late April 2009, roughly four feet below the emergency spillway crest. Peak daily inflow that spring reached 9,200 cubic feet per second, and Pipestem crested three days before Jamestown Reservoir. The Corps credited the two dams with preventing an estimated $70 million in flood damage in Jamestown. The site's gauge widget covers only recent years, so it will not show this record.
Why is Pipestem Lake so high in spring?
Pipestem is a flood control reservoir, so it is supposed to fill with snowmelt and then let the water out slowly. The Corps coordinates its releases with Jamestown Reservoir so combined flows through Jamestown stay manageable, generally emptying Jamestown's flood storage first and Pipestem's in June, July and August. By agreement with Game and Fish, drawdown toward 1,442.5 feet does not start until June 1.
How high did Pipestem get in 2022?
Spring 2022 runoff raised the lake from its winter level of about 1,441 feet to a peak of roughly 1,478 feet. By mid July it had dropped to about 1,470 feet with Pipestem releasing 600 cubic feet per second and Jamestown Reservoir 800, a combined 1,400. That peak was well short of the 2009 record but high enough to cover the main boat ramp.
When does the Pipestem boat ramp flood?
The main boat ramp and its parking lot go under at about 1,465 feet, roughly 22 feet above normal pool. When that happens, the Parkhurst recreation area has an alternate ramp, along with a courtesy dock, fishing docks, campsites and picnic areas. The Pipestem area near the dam also has camping, picnicking and trails. Check the gauge in spring before hauling a boat out.
What was the Pipestem Dam spillway project?
The Corps found the dam's earthen emergency spillway, cut through erodible sand, gravel and weathered shale, could erode and breach during a major flood, and rated the dam high hazard. A roughly $250 million, three year project added a reinforced concrete labyrinth crest, a stepped chute and a stilling basin. Groundbreaking was in 2023 and officials marked completion with a ribbon cutting in May 2026.
Other lakes near Pipestem Lake
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