Green River Lake Water Level
Green River Lake is at 674.32 ft today (Oct 6), 0.68 ft below its 675 ft full pool, down 0.24 ft this week.
Kentucky · Green River
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Water level history
About Green River Lake
Green River Lake is a reservoir on the Green River in Kentucky, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 675 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Green River Lake's water level
Green River Lake is a flood control reservoir first and a recreation lake second, and its level makes sense once you read it that way. The Corps of Engineers began the earth and rock dam in April 1964 and finished it in June 1969 under authority of the Flood Control Act of 1938. It stands 141 feet high and 2,350 feet long, 305.7 miles above the Green River's mouth and 26 miles upstream of Greensburg, with a separate 103 foot dike alongside. Behind it sits 682 square miles of drainage from the Highland Rim country of Adair and Taylor counties. At summer pool of 675 feet the lake covers 8,210 acres, runs about 25 miles, and has 147 miles of shoreline, with an average depth near 25 feet and 65 feet at the dam. The whole project, land and water, is 33,793 acres, the largest in the Louisville District.
The numbers that matter for the level are 668, 675 and 713. Winter pool is 668 feet, summer pool 675, and the top of the flood pool is 713, which is also the spillway crest. In Corps storage figures that is roughly 190,000 acre feet at winter pool, 244,100 at summer pool and 723,200 at the top of the flood pool, so almost two thirds of the reservoir is reserved empty space for floods. In a normal year the lake slides a foot or so below 675 through September and October, then drops to 668 over late November and early December, which is what happened in 2023, when it went from 673.9 on November 8 to 668.2 by December 8. Spring rain brings it back to summer pool, usually by mid to late April. Any reading above 675 is floodwater being held back, and the Corps releases it downstream as the Green River below the dam can take it.
The biggest flood of recent years came in April 2025, after a week of heavy rain across Kentucky. The lake stood at 693.6 feet and 41 percent of its flood storage on the morning of April 5, reached 701.3 by April 7, and topped out around 703.7 feet between April 18 and 21, about 29 feet above summer pool and roughly nine feet below the spillway crest. The pool of record is still 705.2 feet, set in January 1979. The river below the dam is the other reason operations here get attention. The upper Green holds more than 70 mussel species and more than 150 fish species, and in the late 1990s The Nature Conservancy and the Corps began changing how this dam runs, blending releases from several outlet levels to send warmer water downstream and postponing the fall drawdown to suit mussel reproduction. The Green became the first river in the national Sustainable Rivers Program in 2002, and biologists have since found juvenile mussels below the dam.
Green River Lake — frequently asked
What is Green River Lake's normal pool level?
Summer pool is 675 feet above sea level, when the lake covers 8,210 acres. Winter pool is 668 feet, when the lake shrinks to roughly 7,200 acres. The top of the flood control pool, which is also the spillway crest, is 713 feet, so a reading anywhere between 675 and 713 means the Corps is storing floodwater and will release it as downstream conditions allow.
What is the record high at Green River Lake?
The pool of record is 705.2 feet, set in January 1979, about 30 feet above summer pool and eight feet shy of the spillway crest. The April 2025 flood came close. The lake reached 701.3 feet on April 7 and peaked near 703.7 feet between April 18 and 21 according to Corps gauge data, still about a foot and a half below the 1979 mark. The recent high shown by this page's gauge, 703.71 feet in 2025, is that April peak; the gauge window does not reach back to 1979.
When does Green River Lake draw down for winter?
The lake eases a foot or so below 675 through September and October, and the main drawdown to the 668 foot winter pool comes in late fall. In 2023 the lake fell from 673.9 feet on November 8 to 668.2 by December 8. The drawdown was deliberately pushed later than it once was, partly to benefit mussel reproduction in the Green River below the dam.
When does Green River Lake fill back to summer pool?
Spring rain refills the seven feet between winter and summer pool, and the lake is usually back near 675 by mid to late April. In 2024 it rose from about 668.5 feet in mid March to 675.3 by April 16. Wet springs overshoot summer pool; in 2025 the lake was already near 699 feet in late February before the April flood pushed it higher.
Why is Green River Lake so high after heavy rain?
Because that is its job. The lake was built primarily for flood control, and the 38 feet between summer pool and the 713 foot spillway crest hold about 479,000 acre feet of floodwater. During a flood the Corps cuts releases to the minimum its water control manual allows, then empties the stored water gradually once the Green River downstream has room. The Corps credits the lake with more than $182 million in flood damages prevented.
Is Green River Lake good for muskie fishing?
Kentucky Fish and Wildlife stocks muskellunge here every year. Its 2026 fishing forecast says legal 40 inch fish and trophies over 45 inches are present, but in lower numbers, with fall, late winter and spring the best times for a big fish and summer trolling over main lake flats also productive. The same forecast rates largemouth bass well, with many fish over 15 inches and some past 18.
Where is Green River Lake State Park?
The state park sits about four miles south of Campbellsville in Taylor County on 1,331 acres of lakeshore. It has a marina, beach, campground, picnic areas and miniature golf, plus about 28 miles of trails used by hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders. The dam itself is roughly 11 miles by road from both Campbellsville and Columbia.
Flow released below Green River Lake
This gauge reads the water leaving the dam, which is the number to check for fishing, paddling and downstream conditions. Live flow is tracked on riverlvl.com.
Other lakes near Green River Lake
- Kentucky LakeKY/TN
- Grayson LakeKY
- Laurel River LakeKY
- Fishtrap LakeKY
- Nolin River LakeKY
- Dewey LakeKY
See current levels for all 15 Kentucky lakes and reservoirs →
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