Lewis Smith Lake Water Level
Lewis Smith Lake is at 498.59 ft today (Oct 31), 11.41 ft below its 510 ft full pool, down 0.27 ft this week.
Alabama · Sipsey Fork
Full pool is the summer level. Lewis Smith Lake is drawn down about 14 ft to roughly 496 ft over winter for flood storage, so a lower reading outside the summer season is usually scheduled rather than drought.
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Water level history
About Lewis Smith Lake
Lewis Smith Lake is a reservoir on the Sipsey Fork in Alabama, operated by Alabama Power. It's one of the cleanest, deepest lakes in the Southeast. Its full summer pool sits at 510 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Lewis Smith Lake's water level
Smith Lake is Alabama Power's storage reservoir on the Sipsey Fork of the Black Warrior River, and its level swings more than most lakes in the state because that is its job. Alabama Power starts lowering it on July 1 from a summer level of about 510 feet and keeps drawing it down until November 30, reaching a winter pool of about 496 feet. That room catches winter and spring rain, and the lake is brought back up to summer pool in spring. The operating guide that sets these limits is the maximum elevation the company may hold under normal conditions, and it is set with input from FERC and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The current federal license for the Warrior River project dates to 2010 and runs to 2040. After that relicensing, the Smith Lake Improvement Association took issues over the reservoir's surface elevation to the federal appeals court in Washington. A drop of fourteen feet between July and December is normal here, not a sign of trouble.
The dam is one of the largest earth and rock filled dams in the eastern United States, 300 feet tall and 2,200 feet long, with a base about a quarter mile wide. Construction began on November 25, 1957, the $29 million project was dedicated on May 23, 1961, and it went into service that September 5. It is named for Lewis Martin Smith, Alabama Power's president from 1952 to 1957, and it was the first of the company's three projects on the Black Warrior. Building it meant abandoning the village of Falls City near Clear Creek Falls, whose post office had closed in 1953, and moving 78 graves from four cemeteries. The lake reaches into Cullman, Walker and Winston counties, runs about 35 miles, and drains a 944 square mile watershed. At the dam it is 264 feet deep, the deepest lake in Alabama, and it borders the William B. Bankhead National Forest and the Sipsey Wilderness.
Smith Dam has no floodgates. Its emergency spillway on the west bank has a crest at 522 feet, and when the lake runs high the question locals ask is how close it is to that mark. The closest recent call came on April 1, 2021, when two weeks of heavy rain pushed the lake to a peak of about 521 feet, roughly eleven feet above summer pool. Alabama Power said the spillway plan would not be needed, and the lake was expected back near 510 by the third week of April. That crest is the high shown in the gauge panel on this page, which covers only about 2020 onward. The panel's low, 498.48 feet, is from 2026, a year when Alabama Power said spring rainfall was well below normal and named Smith among the storage lakes most affected by drought. Even that low sat above the normal winter pool of about 496 feet.
Lewis Smith Lake — frequently asked
What is Smith Lake's full pool?
Summer pool is about 510 feet above sea level, the figure Alabama Power lists for the reservoir and the level it aims to hold through the summer. In winter the lake is kept around 496 feet. Anything above 510 is flood storage, and the emergency spillway does not come into play until 522 feet.
When does Alabama Power draw down Smith Lake?
Lowering begins on July 1 and ends on November 30, when the lake reaches winter pool of about 496 feet. It then holds near that level through the winter. The schedule is set by the operating guide in the federal license, and Alabama Power notes that weather can change it, especially during drought or after heavy rain.
When does Smith Lake fill back up?
The operating guide starts January at winter pool and rises through late winter into early spring toward summer pool, then stays flat through the summer. Alabama Power says it refills its storage lakes with spring rain so they reach summer levels by May. In a dry spring, as in 2026, the lake can stay below its usual summer level.
What is the highest Smith Lake has been recently?
On April 1, 2021, after two weeks of heavy rain, the lake crested at about 521 feet, roughly a foot below the 522 foot spillway crest. Local officials said debris filled the water and docks were unreachable during the high water. Smith Dam has no floodgates, so the spillway is the only relief above that point, and Alabama Power said it would not be needed.
Why is Smith Lake low?
Most of the time a low Smith Lake is the normal drawdown, which takes the lake about fourteen feet below summer pool between July and late November. In 2026 drought added to it: Alabama Power said spring rainfall was well below normal and that Smith was among its storage lakes most affected, though it was working within its federal licenses to keep as much water in the lakes as possible.
How deep is Smith Lake?
Alabama Power gives a maximum depth of 264 feet at the dam, which makes it the deepest lake in Alabama. The dam itself stands 300 feet tall. That depth keeps the clear water cool at depth through the summer, and bass anglers regularly fish main lake points deeper than 50 feet.
What is the Alabama state record spotted bass?
It came from Smith Lake: 8 pounds 15 ounces, caught by Phillip C. Terry of Decatur on March 18, 1978, when he was 14. State records list it as a former world record for rod and reel. The lake is also known for big striped bass, with fish over 20 pounds caught regularly and some in the 30s and 40s.
Other lakes near Lewis Smith Lake
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