Wappapello Lake Water Level
Wappapello Lake is at 359.67 ft today (Oct 31), 0.07 ft below its 359.74 ft full pool, down 0.08 ft this week.
Missouri · St. Francis River
Full pool is the summer level. Wappapello Lake is drawn down about 5 ft to roughly 354.74 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 Wappapello Lake
Wappapello Lake is a reservoir on the St. Francis River in Missouri, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 359.74 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Wappapello Lake's water level
Wappapello Dam was authorized by the Flood Control Act of 1936, went under construction in 1938 and was finished in 1941, and flood control was its only authorized purpose. Recreation was added later under acts of 1944 and 1954. The dam stands on the St. Francis River in northern Butler County, and the lake backs up mostly into Wayne County in southeast Missouri. The Corps counts the whole project, land and water, at about 45,000 acres, while the lake itself covers roughly 8,400 acres at its normal level. It is a shallow lake: the main basin averages about 15 feet deep and the upper reaches only about 3 feet, so a few feet of change floods or uncovers a lot of flat ground. Building it reshaped the valley quickly, and the Hunter Branch railroad line and the Wappapello depot both closed in 1939 as construction altered the area. The Corps credits the project with an estimated $3.9 million a year in flood protection for the farmland and towns below it.
The level follows a yearly cycle set by the Corps of Engineers. Through summer and fall the target is recreation pool, 359.74 feet NGVD. On December 15 the Corps begins drawing the lake down five feet to conservation pool at 354.74 feet, which it normally reaches in January and holds until the beginning of April. The point of the winter drop is room: the lower lake has extra space to store winter and spring rain. Starting in early April the level is raised gradually, reaching recreation pool again in early May. Everything above recreation pool is flood storage. When a big storm hits the upper St. Francis basin, inflow can far outrun what the dam's gates release, so the lake climbs fast and then comes down slowly over weeks. If it rises past 394.74 feet, the top of the auxiliary spillway, water starts leaving over the spillway on its own, which is what happened in 2011 and again in 2017.
The flood of record came in spring 2011. Inflows approached 88,000 cubic feet per second on April 24 and 25, and the Corps built a temporary rock berm across the spillway to 397.3 feet. Water began overtopping it around 2 a.m. on May 2, and the lake crested just over 400.0 feet on May 3, nearly a foot above the old record of 399.09 feet set in April 1945. More than 30,400 cubic feet per second was leaving the lake, over three times what the gate structure can release, and the flow washed out Highway T across the spillway. In 2017 the lake went over the auxiliary spillway again around 9 a.m. on May 1 and crested at 398.1 feet the next day, badly damaging the Greenville recreation area. The gauge panel on this page covers only about 2020 onward, and its high of 383.25 feet came in 2025. That April, inflows reached 73,000 cubic feet per second, campgrounds at Peoples Creek and Greenville closed, and the Corps projected a crest in the low to middle 380s.
Wappapello Lake — frequently asked
What is Wappapello Lake's full pool?
The summer target, which the Corps calls recreation pool, is 359.74 feet NGVD, and that is the full pool figure this page uses. In winter the lake is held five feet lower at conservation pool, 354.74 feet. Everything above recreation pool is flood storage reserved for high water, up to the top of the auxiliary spillway at 394.74 feet, where water begins spilling uncontrolled.
Why is Wappapello Lake lower in winter, and when does it refill?
The Corps starts its annual drawdown on December 15, lowering the lake from 359.74 to 354.74 feet so there is extra room to store winter and spring rain. The lake usually reaches the lower level in January and stays there until the beginning of April. From early April it is raised gradually, and it normally reaches recreation pool again by early May, barring heavy rain that pushes it higher.
What is the record high at Wappapello Lake?
Just over 400.0 feet on May 3, 2011. That crest beat the previous record of 399.09 feet, set in April 1945, by nearly a foot, and it came the day after water began overtopping a temporary rock berm the Corps had built across the spillway to 397.3 feet. The second highest recent crest was 398.1 feet on May 2, 2017.
Has water gone over the Wappapello spillway?
Yes, twice in recent memory. On May 2, 2011, the lake topped the emergency spillway, releases passed 30,400 cubic feet per second, and Highway T across the spillway washed out; a $2.1 million bridge was ruled out and the road was rebuilt farther from the spillway. On May 1, 2017, the lake rose over the auxiliary spillway, whose top sits at 394.74 feet. The Corps reported the dam performed properly both times.
What happened at Wappapello Lake in April 2025?
Heavy early April rain sent inflows to 73,000 cubic feet per second on April 6. The Corps closed campgrounds at Peoples Creek and Greenville, postponed its open house, and planned to raise releases to about 10,000 cubic feet per second while holding the rest in the flood pool. The 383.25 foot high on this page's recent gauge panel comes from 2025, still about eleven feet below the auxiliary spillway.
How is crappie fishing at Wappapello Lake?
The Missouri Department of Conservation rated it fair for 2025, with a decent number of white crappie from nine to twelve inches, while most black crappie run five to eight inches because they grow much more slowly here. Since spring 2019 the daily limit has been 30 crappie, no more than 15 of them over nine inches. MDC biologists note that sudden water level drops during the spawn can sharply cut crappie and shad reproduction.
Where is Lake Wappapello State Park?
The park sits on land along the lake that the state has leased from the Corps of Engineers since 1956, totaling 1,854 acres. It has nine modern cabins and four rustic camper cabins, two campgrounds, and trails including the Lake Wappapello Trail, which is open to hikers, backpackers, horseback riders and mountain bikes across rugged Ozark upland terrain, plus shorter routes along the shoreline.
Other lakes near Wappapello Lake
- Blue Springs LakeMO
- Truman LakeMO
- Bull Shoals LakeAR/MO
- Table Rock LakeMO
- Longview LakeMO
- Stockton LakeMO
See current levels for all 12 Missouri lakes and reservoirs →
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