Charles Mill Lake Water Level
Charles Mill Lake is at 997.06 ft today (Oct 31), 0.06 ft above its 997 ft full pool, down 0.08 ft this week.
Ohio · Black Fork Mohican River
Full pool is the summer level. Charles Mill Lake is drawn down about 5 ft to roughly 992 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 Charles Mill Lake
Charles Mill Lake is a reservoir on the Black Fork Mohican River in Ohio, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 997 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Charles Mill Lake's water level
Charles Mill is a flood control reservoir first and a lake second. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington District, owns and operates the dam on the Black Fork of the Mohican River near Mifflin, and the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District manages the lake and the 2,000 acre park around it. The dam was finished in 1936, one of 14 the federal government agreed in 1934 to build for the conservancy district after the great Muskingum flood of 1913 set the whole effort in motion. It is a rolled earth dam with a clay core, 1,390 feet long and 52 feet high, backed by two dikes and a levee, and it controls 215 square miles of drainage. At summer pool, 997 feet, the lake covers about 1,350 acres but holds only 7,400 acre-feet. The flood pool tops out at 1020 feet and 88,000 acre-feet, so nearly everything above the summer surface is room set aside for storm water. That is why a few inches of rain can lift the lake several feet in a matter of days, and why the Corps then lets it back down toward 997 over the following weeks.
Every fall the lake drops five feet. The Corps lowers it from 997 to a winter level of 992, starting November 1 in recent years and spreading the release over about 35 days, which leaves extra storage for winter thaw and spring rain. MWCD uses the low water for shoreline work; for the 2025-26 winter that meant rock riprap along both sides of about 500 feet of the road to the beach. Refill starts in mid February, MWCD suggests 995 by March 15, and the Corps operating curve calls for 997 again from mid March. In both 2025 and 2026 the lake was back at summer pool in the second half of March. The drawdown takes a bigger bite here than at deeper lakes. MWCD lists a maximum depth of just 24 feet, and summer storage divided by surface area works out to an average depth of roughly five and a half feet. At 992 the lake holds about 2,140 acre-feet, less than a third of its summer volume.
The highest level on record is 1017.11 feet, about 20 feet above summer pool and less than three feet below the top of the flood pool, and the Corps reports that the spillways have never flowed. In the Corps' 15 minute record, which begins in August 2020, the high mark is 1009.74 feet early on April 7, 2026. Storms in the first days of that April dropped about 4.6 inches on the dam's rain gauge, flood warnings covered Ashland and Richland counties, and the lake climbed from 997 in late March past the Corps' 1008 foot flood threat level on the evening of April 4. It stayed above that line until April 10 while releases ran around 1,200 cubic feet per second, and did not slip back under 1000 until April 19. The low end of that record, 991.94 feet, came during the winter drawdowns of December 2021 and January 2022. The lake takes its name from a mill on the Black Fork that stood about half a mile downstream of the dam site, and many locals still call it Mifflin Lake.
Charles Mill Lake — frequently asked
What is Charles Mill Lake's normal pool level?
Summer pool is 997 feet, which the Corps of Engineers lists as the top of both its conservation and recreation pools. At that level the lake covers about 1,350 acres and holds 7,400 acre-feet. Winter pool is 992 feet. Anything above 997 is flood storage, which the Corps releases back toward 997 after storms; after the April 2026 crest that took a little over two weeks.
When is Charles Mill Lake drawn down for winter?
In recent years the drawdown has started November 1 and taken about 35 days, lowering the lake five feet from 997 to 992 by early December. Dates can shift: in 2023 the release began November 15, and because MWCD had shoreline construction planned, the lake was held down until February 15, 2024 before returning to its normal schedule. MWCD posts the schedule each October.
When does Charles Mill Lake refill in spring?
The Corps operating curve holds the lake at 992 until mid February, then raises the target to 995, and returns it to 997 in mid March. MWCD's suggested intermediate level is 995 by March 15. Actual timing depends on rain. In both 2025 and 2026 the lake reached summer pool in the second half of March, and in both years April storms then pushed it well above 1000.
What is the record high level at Charles Mill Lake?
The Corps lists the pool of record at 1017.11 feet, about 20 feet above summer pool and less than three feet below the 1020 foot top of the flood pool. The spillways have never flowed. The highest reading in the Corps' 15 minute data since August 2020 is 1009.74 feet on April 7, 2026, after about 4.6 inches of rain in the first week of April.
How deep is Charles Mill Lake?
Not very. MWCD gives a maximum depth of 24 feet at summer pool, and the ODNR fishing map, based on the 997 foot pool and surveyed in 2021, shows contours in three foot steps to 24 feet. With 7,400 acre-feet spread over about 1,350 acres, the average depth is only about five and a half feet, so the five foot winter drawdown removes most of the lake's volume.
What is the horsepower limit on Charles Mill Lake?
Ohio Administrative Code rule 1501:47-9-01 bars watercraft with motors over 10 horsepower on Charles Mill, and MWCD lists the limit as 10. MWCD's reservation site phrases it as 9.9 horsepower, so a 9.9 outboard is the safe reading. There are public ramps at the marina and on State Route 430, plus two accessible kayak launches.
What fish are in Charles Mill Lake?
MWCD's lake map lists bluegill, bullheads, channel catfish, crappie, flathead catfish, hybrid striped bass, largemouth bass, saugeye and white bass. ODNR fishing and boating rules apply on MWCD water, and the park has an accessible fishing pier. ODNR publishes a depth map of the lake, revised in 2021 and drawn at the 997 foot summer pool, which is worth checking against the current level during the winter drawdown.
Other lakes near Charles Mill Lake
- Clendening LakeOH
- Beach City LakeOH
- Deer Creek LakeOH
- Atwood LakeOH
- Delaware LakeOH
- Alum Creek LakeOH
See current levels for all 16 Ohio lakes and reservoirs →
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