Logan Martin Lake Water Level
Logan Martin Lake is at 463.44 ft today (Oct 31), 1.56 ft below its 465 ft full pool, down 0.28 ft this week.
Alabama · Coosa River
Full pool is the summer level. Logan Martin Lake is drawn down about 3 ft to roughly 462 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 Logan Martin Lake
Logan Martin Lake is a reservoir on the Coosa River in Alabama, operated by Alabama Power. Its full summer pool sits at 465 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Logan Martin Lake's water level
Logan Martin rises and falls on a seasonal curve that Alabama Power runs under flood rules written by the Army Corps of Engineers, which governs this dam and Weiss upstream on the Coosa. Summer pool is 465 feet. Beginning October 1 the company lowers the lake over several weeks, finishing by about November 30, and the water is back up by May. For nearly six decades the winter target was 460 feet. In August 2021 the Corps signed a record of decision approving Alabama Power's request to permanently raise winter pool and change flood operations at both Logan Martin and Weiss, and after further coordination with the Corps and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission the new 462-foot winter pool took effect September 1, 2022. The lake now drops three feet each fall instead of five. Even before that change, a dry winter could bring a temporary variance: in January 2018 the Corps let Alabama Power hold Logan Martin as high as 462 feet until April 16 so it would reach summer pool despite drought.
The upper end below Neely Henry Dam behaves much like a river, and when heavy rain falls across the Coosa basin all three upper dams shift into Corps flood procedures at once. The highest level on record is 475.31 feet on April 6, 1977, more than ten feet above summer pool. The lowest figure cited in the lake's environmental record is 452.5 feet in October 1972. The most damaging recent flood came in late February 2019, when the lake crested at 471.7 feet. Shoreline owners lost boats, kayaks and in some cases whole docks, and boathouses along the shore were damaged. That crest fell within the band where Alabama Power's own land ownership runs from 465 to 473 feet depending on the property, with flood easements above that up to 490 feet. Smaller rises are routine: in March 2001 a two day storm pushed the lake about two feet over summer pool before it crested near 467.
Congress authorized Alabama Power's Coosa River development in June 1954, and Logan Martin was the second dam built under it. Construction started in 1960 at the old proposed site of Lock 7, storage began in June 1964, and the dam was completed that year. It carries the name of Logan Martin, a former Alabama attorney general and brother of longtime Alabama Power president Thomas Martin. Clearing the basin meant cutting thousands of trees and relocating more than 2,000 graves. The water covered Easonville, a village founded in 1821, and Greensport near Pell City, once the southernmost landing for steamboats running north up the Coosa toward Rome, Georgia. The reservoir stretches 48.5 miles from the dam near Vincent up to Neely Henry Dam, covers 15,263 acres and has 275 miles of shoreline across St. Clair, Talladega and Calhoun counties, with Pell City, Lincoln and Riverside on its banks. Three turbines at the dam produce more than 400 million kilowatt hours a year.
Logan Martin Lake — frequently asked
What is Logan Martin Lake's full pool?
Full summer pool is 465 feet above sea level, the level Alabama Power holds from roughly May into the fall. Winter pool is now 462 feet. Water above 465 is flood storage, and the lake has been well above it: 471.7 feet in February 2019 and 475.31 feet in April 1977. Alabama Power's fee ownership along the shore runs from 465 to 473 feet depending on the lot.
When does Logan Martin Lake draw down and refill?
Under the current schedule Alabama Power starts lowering Logan Martin, along with Weiss and Neely Henry, on October 1. The drawdown takes several weeks and is expected to reach the 462-foot winter level by November 30. The lake is raised back to the 465-foot summer pool by May. The company encourages dock, ramp and seawall repairs during the low water, with a permit from its Shoreline Management Office first.
Did the winter pool at Logan Martin change?
Yes. Winter pool was 460 feet from the 1960s until 2022. The Army Corps of Engineers signed a record of decision on August 27, 2021 approving a permanent two foot increase and revised flood operations at Logan Martin and Weiss, tied to updates of both reservoirs' water control manuals. After coordination with the Corps and FERC, the 462-foot winter pool took effect September 1, 2022.
What is the record high level at Logan Martin Lake?
475.31 feet on April 6, 1977, a little over ten feet above summer pool. The closest approach in recent decades was the February 2019 flood, which crested at 471.7 feet, about 3.6 feet below the record. That flood cost lakefront owners boats, kayaks and some docks outright. Within the shorter record window on this page, the high was 468.17 feet in 2021.
Why is Logan Martin Lake low?
Most of the time it is the scheduled winter drawdown: from October through April the lake is meant to sit about three feet below summer pool. Drought can stretch that out, which is why the Corps sometimes grants temporary variances, as in 2018 when Logan Martin was allowed to store water up to 462 feet early to help it reach summer pool. The lowest level in the lake's environmental record is 452.5 feet in October 1972.
What fish do biologists find in Logan Martin Lake?
State surveys rate spotted bass as a standout, with many fish from 14 to 21 inches and numbers in the 17 to 20 inch range matching the highest ever recorded here. Largemouth bass are abundant with excellent growth. Striped and hybrid bass are stocked at three to five fish per acre each year, run upriver toward Neely Henry Dam in spring, and use cool spring fed creeks such as Ohatchee and Choccolocco in summer.
Why is there PCB cleanup work on Logan Martin Lake?
Choccolocco Creek, the lake's largest tributary, carries PCBs from the Anniston PCB Superfund Site and enters the lake 17 miles above the dam. Some fish in the lake have been found to carry PCBs. Surface water, porewater and fish tissue sampling are complete, a fish movement study is ongoing, and lakewide sediment sampling was planned from late August through October 2026 to define how far the contamination extends.
Other lakes near Logan Martin Lake
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