Smithville Lake Water Level
Smithville Lake is at 863.73 ft today (Oct 31), 0.47 ft below its 864.2 ft full pool, down 0.02 ft this week.
Missouri · Little Platte River
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Water level history
About Smithville Lake
Smithville Lake is a reservoir on the Little Platte River in Missouri, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 864.2 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Smithville Lake's water level
Smithville Lake is first a flood control reservoir. The Corps of Engineers dam on the Little Platte River just east of Smithville sets levels under its water control manual to keep water off the towns downstream, and every foot of rise is stored runoff waiting for room on the Platte and Missouri. Normal pool, the top of the conservation pool, is 864.2 feet. The flood pool runs another twelve feet up to 876.2, the spillway crest sits at 880.2, and the top of the surcharge pool is 891.1, a few feet below the 895 foot crest of the 4,000 foot earthen embankment. At normal pool the lake covers about 7,190 acres and holds roughly 141,700 acre-feet; full to the top of the flood pool it holds about 243,400. The drainage above the dam is only 213 square miles, so the lake reacts to local storms rather than distant snowmelt, and outflow on a quiet day is a trickle of a few cubic feet per second.
The dam answered a long run of floods on the Little Platte. Residents interviewed for the Corps in 1979 recalled floods in 1930, 1947, 1951 and 1965, and in the 1965 flood water stood about twelve feet deep in parts of Smithville. The dam was authorized in 1965 and construction began in 1972, and the Corps began impounding the lake in October 1979. The biggest test came in June 2015, after about fourteen inches of rain fell from mid May. The water rose roughly ten feet above normal, passed the 1993 flood mark, flooded part of the Paradise Pointe golf course and marina parking lot, and the Corps said the lake had never held more water. The gauge panel on this page covers only about 2020 onward, so its 870.61 foot high from 2021 is not the 2015 peak. Dry years show the other side: in the 2018 drought the lake ran two to six feet low and boaters hit stumps that had not broken the surface before.
Behind the flood role is a water supply pool. The conservation pool holds about 102,200 acre-feet of multipurpose storage, of which about 95,200 is set aside for water supply. The City of Smithville has drawn from the lake under a 1972 contract for 2,000 acre-feet a year, using about 1,058, and Plattsburg also holds storage; Trimble and Grayson are served from the lake as well. Recreation is a cost share arrangement: Clay County Parks runs Camp Branch, Crows Creek and Little Platte parks, the swim beaches and Paradise Pointe Marina, while the City of Smithville runs Smith's Fork Park. For anglers, the Missouri Department of Conservation calls crappie the focal point, a near even split of black and white fish under a newer regulation meant to improve size. Largemouth catch rates in 2025 were near an all time high, and stocked walleye are managed for harvest rather than trophies, with 38 percent over twenty inches.
Smithville Lake — frequently asked
What is Smithville Lake's normal pool level?
864.2 feet above sea level, the top of the conservation pool. That is the level the Corps of Engineers aims to hold, and a reading a few tenths above or below it is normal. At that elevation the lake covers about 7,190 acres with roughly 175 miles of shoreline and stores about 141,700 acre-feet. The bottom of the conservation pool is 814.5 feet, close to the old streambed at 799.
How high can Smithville Lake rise?
The flood control pool tops out at 876.2 feet, twelve feet above normal pool, where the lake holds about 243,400 acre-feet. Above that the spillway crest is at 880.2 feet and the top of the surcharge pool at 891.1 feet. The embankment crest is 895 feet. When the lake is in the flood pool, the Corps holds water until the Platte and Missouri downstream drop enough to take releases safely.
What is Smithville Lake's record high?
The record came in June 2015. After about fourteen inches of rain from mid May, the lake rose roughly ten feet above normal pool, past the 1993 flood level, and the Corps said it had never held a higher volume of water. Part of the golf course and marina parking lot went under and power to boat slips was shut off. The gauge panel on this page covers only about 2020 onward, so its 2021 high of 870.61 feet is lower.
Why is Smithville Lake so high after heavy rain?
Because storing floodwater is its main job. When the Platte and Missouri are already high, the Corps keeps releases small and lets the lake climb into its flood pool rather than add to flooding downstream. In June 2019, for example, the lake stood about seven feet above normal while the Corps held water because the rivers below were too high. Releases follow once downstream stages fall, which is why the lake can stay up for weeks.
Why is Smithville Lake low?
Lack of rain. The lake has a small 213 square mile drainage and no large river feeding it, so in a dry summer evaporation and water supply withdrawals pull it down with little inflow to replace them. In the 2018 drought it ran two to six feet below normal. At those levels stumps and timber that are normally submerged reach the surface, boaters have damaged motors, and care is needed backing trailers down the ramps.
Who uses Smithville Lake for drinking water?
About 95,200 acre-feet of the conservation pool is reserved for water supply. Smithville and Plattsburg hold storage contracts, and the lake also supplies Trimble and Grayson. Smithville's 1972 contract covers 2,000 acre-feet a year, and the city uses about 1,058. The city's intake sits on the east side of the dam, and zebra mussels in the lake have been clogging its pump intake.
What fish are in Smithville Lake?
Crappie lead, roughly half black and half white, and the Missouri Department of Conservation asks anglers to keep undersized black crappie and release undersized white crappie. Largemouth bass are abundant, with 2025 catch rates near an all time high. Walleye are stocked and managed for harvest; 98 percent of those sampled were over fifteen inches. White bass, channel catfish and flathead catfish round out the fishery, and the Corps and MDC have added brush piles, hinge cut trees and rock piles for habitat.
Other lakes near Smithville Lake
- Stockton LakeMO
- Pomme de Terre LakeMO
- Table Rock LakeMO
- Lake of the OzarksMO
- Truman LakeMO
- Norfork LakeAR/MO
See current levels for all 12 Missouri lakes and reservoirs →
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