Tappan Lake Water Level
Tappan Lake is at 899.03 ft today (Oct 31), 0.27 ft below its 899.3 ft full pool, down 0.06 ft this week.
Ohio · Little Stillwater Creek
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Water level history
About Tappan Lake
Tappan Lake is a reservoir on the Little Stillwater Creek in Ohio, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 899.3 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Tappan Lake's water level
Tappan Lake exists because of the March 1913 flood, when five days of rain put every stream in Ohio out of its banks and killed 11 people in the Muskingum River watershed. Ohio passed the Conservancy Act in 1914, the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District was organized on June 3, 1933, and by 1938 fourteen dams and reservoirs were in place across the basin. Tappan Dam, finished in 1936, blocks Little Stillwater Creek in northwest Harrison County between Cadiz and Dennison. It is a 52 foot rolled earth fill with an impervious core, about 1,550 feet long, and it controls 71.1 square miles of drainage. Flood control is the primary job; water conservation, recreation and fish and wildlife came along as design purposes. After the Flood Control Act of 1939, operation of the dams passed to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, now its Huntington District, while the conservancy district kept much of the reservoir land and runs the park, the campgrounds and the recreation program around the lake.
The level follows a fixed seasonal pattern rather than rainfall alone. Normal pool is 899.3 feet. Each year on November 15 the Corps starts letting the lake down five feet to a winter level of 894.3, a release scheduled over about 35 days. The point is empty space: room to catch snowmelt and spring rain before it reaches Little Stillwater Creek and the Muskingum below. The district also uses the low water to inspect and repair dams and shoreline. Refill is staged, with an intermediate target of 897.3 feet by March 15. Day to day, outflow runs through three sluice gates, each 3.5 by 7 feet, and two ungated 1.5 foot siphons help hold the minimum pool. The Corps aims to keep at least 2.0 cubic feet per second flowing below the dam, though in a very dry spell the release can fall short of that once the lake drops below the siphon intake. After a big storm the reading on this page can climb well above normal pool for days while the Corps meters the stored water out.
At normal pool the lake covers 2,350 acres, with about 30 miles of shoreline and a maximum depth of 34 feet. U.S. 250 follows it for several miles on causeways built during construction in the 1930s, which is why so much of the lake is visible from the road. Beneath the water lies the town site of Laceyville, named for Major John S. Lacey, whose post office ran from 1850 to 1907 before the reservoir permanently submerged it. Ohio law caps outboard power at 399 horsepower here, and the district marks 6 mph and no wake zones. Saugeye are the headline fish. A state survey in 2021 found about 30 percent of the saugeye caught measured more than 22 inches, the Fish Ohio qualifying length, and in 2022 Tappan was one of the three inland lakes where anglers most often landed Fish Ohio saugeye, including a 29 inch fish that tied for the largest reported that year. The district also lists largemouth bass, crappie, walleye, white bass, yellow perch, bluegill, channel and flathead catfish and bullheads.
Tappan Lake — frequently asked
What is Tappan Lake's normal pool elevation?
Normal pool is 899.3 feet above sea level, the figure the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District uses in its annual drawdown schedule. That is the summer target. From late fall into early spring the Corps holds the lake about five feet lower, at 894.3 feet, so a reading in the mid 890s in January is the plan working, not a drought.
Why is Tappan Lake low in the winter?
Every year the Corps draws Tappan down five feet, from 899.3 to 894.3, starting on November 15 and spreading the release over about 35 days. Tappan is first a flood control reservoir, and the lower winter pool leaves extra storage for snowmelt and spring rain. The conservancy district also schedules dam inspections, maintenance and shoreline work during the low water.
When does Tappan Lake refill in the spring?
Refill is gradual. The district's published schedule sets an intermediate target of 897.3 feet by March 15, two feet below normal pool, and the lake then works back up toward 899.3 as spring inflow allows. Heavy rain can push it above normal pool at any time of year, and the Corps then releases the stored water through the dam's sluice gates over the following days.
Who owns and operates Tappan Lake?
It is a shared arrangement. The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, formed in 1933, built the system, and the Flood Control Act of 1939 handed operation of the dams to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Huntington District runs Tappan Dam and sets releases, while the conservancy district manages much of the surrounding land and operates Tappan Lake Park, the campgrounds and the recreation facilities.
What is the horsepower limit on Tappan Lake?
399 horsepower. Ohio Administrative Code rule 1501:47-9-01 makes it unlawful to run a motor larger than that on Tappan, and the conservancy district lists the same limit. Parts of the lake are also marked as 6 mph and no wake zones. The district reports two public launch ramps, two kayak launches and two accessible fishing piers, plus a marina off U.S. 250 across the lake from the park.
Is Tappan Lake good for saugeye fishing?
It is one of the better inland saugeye lakes in Ohio for size. A state survey reported in 2021 found about 30 percent of saugeye caught were longer than 22 inches, the Fish Ohio mark. In 2022 Tappan, Buckeye Lake and Indian Lake produced the most Fish Ohio saugeye among inland lakes, and the year's largest reported saugeye, 29 inches, came from Tappan and Seneca.
What town is under Tappan Lake?
Laceyville, a small Harrison County settlement named for Major John S. Lacey, lies beneath the water. It had a post office from 1850 until 1907, and the town site was permanently submerged when the reservoir filled after the dam was finished in 1936. U.S. 250 crosses the lake on causeways built during that same 1930s construction.
Other lakes near Tappan Lake
- Tom Jenkins Lake (Burr Oak)OH
- Senecaville LakeOH
- Wills Creek LakeOH
- Pleasant Hill LakeOH
- Alum Creek LakeOH
- Piedmont LakeOH
See current levels for all 16 Ohio lakes and reservoirs →
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