Cherokee Lake Water Level
Cherokee Lake is at 1,057.25 ft today (Oct 6), 17.75 ft below its 1,075 ft full pool, down 1.12 ft this week.
Tennessee · Holston River
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Water level history
About Cherokee Lake
Cherokee Lake is a reservoir on the Holston River in Tennessee, operated by Tennessee Valley Authority. Its full summer pool sits at 1075 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and update hourly.
Understanding Cherokee Lake's water level
Cherokee is a storage reservoir, and its level swings more than most visitors expect. TVA says the lake varies about 30 feet between summer and winter in a year with normal rainfall, and that swing is the point: the space emptied each fall and winter is flood storage, 749,400 acre-feet of it. The dam sits on the Holston 52 miles above the spot where the Holston and French Broad join to form the Tennessee River, and Cherokee is one of ten tributary reservoirs TVA draws on to keep minimum flows moving down the system. Between June 1 and Labor Day, weekly flow targets at Chickamauga Dam, ranging from 13,000 cubic feet per second in early summer up to 29,000 by August depending on storage, govern how much water leaves the tributary lakes. After Labor Day the priority shifts back to flood space and the lake starts falling toward its winter floor. TVA's land plan for the reservoir puts minimum winter pool at elevation 1,020, where the lake shrinks to about 12,360 acres, less than half its summer surface.
The 1,075 feet shown as full pool on this page is the top of the spillway gates, which TVA's reservoir land plan calls maximum pool. At that elevation the lake backs up 54 river miles to John Sevier Detention Dam and covers 31,240 acres, with 396 miles of shoreline counting islands. Normal operations stay below it: the same plan put the typical summer level between 1,060 and 1,072, and the highest reading in this page's recent record, which starts in 2024, is 1,070.68. A few feet matter here. In a slow June fill in 2023, a co-owner of Cherokee Boat Dock warned renters that below full pool they could drag a lower unit or propeller on the bottom, and TVA's River Forecast Center tells boaters in dry years to learn their lakes because obstacles sit closer to the surface. Spring 2026 was one of those years. On May 20 TVA said Cherokee was seven to eight feet below normal for the date and would need at least 12 inches of rain to reach summer pool.
Cherokee was a wartime crash job. Congress authorized it in 1940 as the first item in the power plan TVA sent to the Defense Advisory Commission, work began August 1, 1940, and the dam closed December 5, 1941, two days before Pearl Harbor. The first generator went on line April 16, 1942, by which time the lake had filled to 1,073. Building it took 45,158 acres in Grainger, Hamblen, Hawkins and Jefferson counties, 100 miles of rebuilt highway, 14 new bridges and the removal of 875 families. The original Bean Station, a stop on the Great Wilderness Road toward Cumberland Gap, went under the water; the town later grew up again at the junction of US 25E and 11W. Today the lake is a fertile fishery for largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, walleye and stocked striped bass, which TWRA says average about 10 pounds in its netting surveys. Big stripers have depended on a cool, oxygenated summer refuge created by TVA's oxygen lines near the dam, and TWRA warned in 2025 that replacing that system with new turbine technology would take the refuge away.
Cherokee Lake — frequently asked
What is Cherokee Lake's full pool?
The figure used here, 1,075 feet, is the top of the gates, which TVA's reservoir land plan describes as maximum pool. At that level the lake covers 31,240 acres and reaches 54 river miles up the Holston to John Sevier Detention Dam. It is a ceiling rather than a normal summer level. The same plan gives the usual summer range as 1,060 to 1,072 feet, and when the reservoir first filled in April 1942 it stood at 1,073.
How far is Cherokee Lake drawn down in winter?
TVA says the level typically drops about 30 feet from summer to winter in a year with normal rainfall, and TWRA describes winter drawdowns of up to 40 feet. TVA's land plan sets minimum winter pool at 1,020 feet, where the lake covers about 12,360 acres. The drawdown begins after Labor Day, when TVA shifts from recreation season to rebuilding flood storage, and refilling depends on winter and spring rain across the Holston basin.
Why is Cherokee Lake so low?
Usually because it has not rained enough to refill the flood storage TVA empties every winter. TVA must still release enough water to meet minimum flow commitments downstream, so a dry spring leaves the lake short. In May 2026, during the worst East Tennessee drought in almost 20 years, TVA said Cherokee sat seven to eight feet below normal for the date and would need at least 12 inches of rain to reach summer pool.
When was Cherokee Dam built?
Construction began August 1, 1940, and TVA finished the dam on what it calls a crash schedule on December 5, 1941, about 16 months later and two days before Pearl Harbor. It was built to supply power for the World War II buildup. The concrete dam is 175 feet high and 6,760 feet long, and its four generating units have a summer net dependable capacity of 122 megawatts.
What towns were flooded by Cherokee Lake?
The best known is the original Bean Station, an old stop on the Great Wilderness Road. Of the roughly 200 families living at the old town site, about 140 were required to move. TVA proposed a planned replacement village in 1941, but the plan collapsed and residents relocated on their own; the town later took shape at the US 25E and 11W junction. Across the whole project 875 families were moved and 100 miles of highway rebuilt.
Does Cherokee Dam ever open its spillway gates?
Rarely. In September 2018 TVA spilled Cherokee for the first time since 1994, opening the gates to make storage room ahead of the rain expected from Hurricane Florence. Most high water is instead held in the lake's 749,400 acre-feet of flood storage, the space TVA clears each winter by drawing the reservoir down.
Are there striped bass in Cherokee Lake?
Yes. Striped bass and Cherokee bass, a hybrid, are maintained by stocking, and TWRA reports that stripers in its netting surveys average about 10 pounds. Large stripers need cool, oxygenated water in summer, and on Cherokee that has come from TVA's oxygen lines near the dam. TWRA warned in April 2025 that TVA planned to stop running those lines after a turbine upgrade, which would sharply cut survival of fish over 25 inches.
Other lakes near Cherokee Lake
- Chickamauga LakeTN
- Center Hill LakeTN
- Dale Hollow LakeKY/TN
- Boone LakeTN
- Douglas LakeTN
- Lake BarkleyKY/TN
See current levels for all 23 Tennessee lakes and reservoirs →
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