Sutton Lake Water Level
Sutton Lake is at 916.31 ft today (Oct 31), 5.69 ft below its 922 ft full pool, down 4.06 ft this week.
West Virginia · Elk River
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Water level history
About Sutton Lake
Sutton Lake is a reservoir on the Elk River in West Virginia, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 922 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Sutton Lake's water level
Sutton Dam sits on the Elk River just upstream of the town of Sutton in Braxton County, 101 miles above Charleston, and its job is to catch the upper Elk and the Holly River before they reach the valley below. It is a concrete gravity dam 210 feet high and 1,178 feet long, controlling 537 square miles of drainage. Congress authorized it in the Flood Control Act of 1938, the Korean War stalled the work, construction resumed in 1956, and Governor Barron dedicated it on July 8, 1961. The Corps of Engineers runs it for flood control, low flow augmentation and recreation. At summer pool the lake covers about 1,520 acres with 40 miles of shoreline and is about 112 feet deep near the dam. The spillway crest is at 1,000 feet, 78 feet above summer pool, and the top of the dam is at 1,017. The dam has never used more than half of its storage.
The Huntington District holds a summer pool of 922 feet and a winter pool of 895, so a 27 foot drop between seasons is normal and not a sign of drought. That swing decides which ramps work. The Bakers Run ramp runs out of concrete below 910 feet and the Freeman ramp below 912, so in winter the Bee Run and South Abutment ramps near the dam carry the launching; their ramp toes are not exposed until the lake falls below 850. Bee Run marina, its beach and its shallow docks go dry below 917, and the Freeman marina closes below 918. When the lake rises, the first trouble comes at 925.3 feet, when water covers the road to eight sites at Gerald R. Freeman Campground. The Bakers Run launch ramp goes under at 935, and the Bee Run marina road and parking lot flood above 940. WVDNR crews use the winter drawdown to sink recycled Christmas trees as fish attractors that go back under when the lake refills.
Floods are what the lake is built for, and they show up as fast rises. On June 23, 2016, the storm that devastated Clendenin, Richwood and much of south central West Virginia pushed inflow from the Elk and Holly to 47,000 cubic feet per second, and Sutton rose 26 feet in 24 hours. The water cut off the Bee Run Marina and Bakers Run launch roads and flooded the Bakers Run bathhouse and electrical system. The Corps began releasing the stored water the next day. Releases are limited by the Elk below the dam: the water control manual allows up to 12,600 cubic feet per second, but only when inflow keeps the lake from dropping more than six feet a day and the river at Frametown stays below flood stage. In December 2019 the Corps took the lake 30 feet below winter pool, to 865 feet, to clear decades of debris from the upstream face of the dam and the sluiceways. Below the dam, WVDNR stocks trout in the first two miles of the Elk. A high level outlet added in 1980 was meant to improve water quality and fish populations downstream.
Sutton Lake — frequently asked
What is Sutton Lake's full summer pool?
The Corps of Engineers' Huntington District lists summer pool at 922 feet above sea level (NGVD29). At that level the lake covers about 1,520 acres. At 925.3 feet water starts covering the road to eight sites at Gerald R. Freeman Campground, and more campground roads go under between 926 and 929 feet.
Why is Sutton Lake so low in winter?
Winter pool is 895 feet, 27 feet below the 922 foot summer pool, and the Corps holds the lake there on purpose so the reservoir has room for winter and spring floods. At that level the Bakers Run and Freeman ramps are out of the water, which leaves the Bee Run and South Abutment ramps near the dam for winter launching. Both collect heavy silt once the lake falls below 895.
What is the record high level at Sutton Lake?
961.87 feet on March 6, 1997, according to the Huntington District water management data. That is nearly 40 feet above summer pool, though still about 38 feet below the spillway crest at 1,000 feet. The top of the dam is at 1,017. The Corps' alert level for the lake is 954 feet, a mark it passed in 1997. The gauge on this page only keeps about six years of readings, so its high and low are recent marks, not these records.
What happened at Sutton Lake during the June 2016 flood?
On June 23, 2016, four to eight inches of rain fell on already soaked ground. Inflow from the Elk and Holly rivers peaked at 47,000 cubic feet per second late that night, and the lake rose 26 feet in 24 hours. Roads to Bee Run Marina and the Bakers Run launch flooded, campsites at Bakers Run were cut off, and the Corps began releasing the stored water the next day.
How fast can the Corps release water from Sutton Dam?
The water control manual allows releases up to 12,600 cubic feet per second, but conditions for that are rare. The Corps must keep the lake from falling more than six feet in 24 hours and keep the Elk River at Frametown below its 18 foot flood stage. In February 2018 releases passed 8,000 cubic feet per second, the most since March 2015, and State Street in Gassaway, which floods several times a year in high water, was again at risk.
Where are the boat ramps, and at what lake levels do they work?
There are four ramps: Bee Run day use area, South Abutment near the dam, Bakers Run campground and Gerald R. Freeman campground. The Bee Run and South Abutment ramps work down to 850 feet. Bakers Run loses its ramp toe below 910 feet, Freeman below 912, and the upper Freeman ramp below 920. At the high end, the Bakers Run ramp floods at 935 feet.
Is there trout fishing below Sutton Dam?
Yes. WVDNR stocks the Elk River for two miles below the dam. Hatchery staff stock the tailwater every two weeks from February through April, with a final stocking in May, using brown, rainbow, golden rainbow, brook and tiger trout. The first mile below the dam is considered the best stretch. Fisheries biologist Jim Walker also points to walleye, muskies, and smallmouth and largemouth bass.
Other lakes near Sutton Lake
- Beech Fork LakeWV
- Summersville LakeWV
- Bluestone LakeWV
- R.D. Bailey LakeWV
- Burnsville LakeWV
- East Lynn LakeWV
See current levels for all 7 West Virginia lakes and reservoirs →
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