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Level of the Lake

Lake Lanier

Elevation at Buford Dam

1,062.23ft

feet above sea level

8.77 ft below full · down 0.41 ft this week

First pinch points
updated 6:15 PM EST

Past 24 hours

−0.07 ft

level change

Since midnight

−0.04 ft

level change

Past 30 days

−1.46 ft

level change

Storage

1.64 million

acre-feet · 84% full

Water temp

51.3°F

below Buford Dam

Put Lanier’s level on your phone →

Drought watchLake Lanier 8.77 ft below full pool

Below full pool

8.77

ft (full = 1,071.00 ft)

Lanier deficit

320,000

acre-feet below full

Above 2007–08 drought low

11.44

ft (1,050.79 ft, 2007–08 drought)

How past droughts played out →

Lanier is easing down (−0.41 ft this week). Releases, evaporation and intakes are taking out more than is coming in. That puts it in the “First pinch points” range, 2.23 ft above the “Widespread low-water impact” line.

Past 30 days

−1.43 ft over this window
1,062.501,063.001,063.50Oct 14Oct 29Nov 13
Lake elevation, past 30 days, now 1,062.30 ft, down 1.43 ft over the window
DateElevation (ft)
Oct 141,063.73
Oct 151,063.69
Oct 161,063.64
Oct 171,063.59
Oct 181,063.52
Oct 191,063.46
Oct 201,063.40
Oct 211,063.34
Oct 221,063.29
Oct 231,063.24
Oct 241,063.17
Oct 251,063.11
Oct 261,063.05
Oct 271,063.00
Oct 281,062.97
Oct 291,062.91
Oct 301,062.85
Oct 311,062.80
Nov 11,062.75
Nov 21,062.68
Nov 31,062.62
Nov 41,062.61
Nov 51,062.69
Nov 61,062.69
Nov 71,062.64
Nov 81,062.61
Nov 91,062.51
Nov 101,062.44
Nov 111,062.39
Nov 121,062.35
Nov 131,062.30

Daily mean elevation · USGS 02334400 daily means · provisional

The lake in cross-section

Flood pool 1085Historic high 1077.151964Full pool 10712007 drought low 105…8.77 ft to full1,062.23 ft

Rivers into the lake

Rivers & rain →

Swipe sideways to follow the river to the lake →

230 cfs97 cfs327 cfs598 cfsout the dam nowChattahoochee230 cfsChestatee97 cfsLake LanierChattahoochee + Chestatee84% fullLanier storagein 327 · out 598 cfsnet −271 cfs ≈ -0.19 in/day on the lakeChattahoochee below…USGS gauge at the dam
SteadyReceding · high water draining downOn the rise · climbing right nowInbound wave · big rise upstreamFlooding · NWS, by river heightNo current readingRising or falling is judged from each gauge’s last 48 hours, scaled to its river. Dot speed follows the flow. NWS flood status comes from river height and outranks direction.

Streamflow at the 2 USGS gauges, plus the current flow out through the dam (USGS). Labels are gauge readings in cfs. Line width isn’t to scale. The lake’s net is worked out from these gauges (flow in minus flow out), so it misses ungauged creeks, evaporation and withdrawals.

The rivers, gauge by gauge

327cfs combined

70% of the inflow is coming from the Chattahoochee

Gauged rivers only. Runoff below these gauges and ungauged arms aren’t counted. Streamflow: USGS (provisional). Flood status: NOAA/NWS, from river height at each gauge rather than flow.