Norris Lake Water Level
Norris Lake is at 1,008.91 ft today (Oct 6), 11.09 ft below its 1,020 ft full pool, down 1.11 ft this week.
Tennessee · Clinch River
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Water level history
About Norris Lake
Norris Lake is a reservoir on the Clinch River in Tennessee, operated by Tennessee Valley Authority. It was TVA's first reservoir, completed in 1936. Its full summer pool sits at 1020 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and update hourly.
Understanding Norris Lake's water level
Norris was the first dam the Tennessee Valley Authority built. Work began on October 1, 1933, only months after Congress created TVA, and the gates closed on March 4, 1936. The dam stands 265 feet high and 1,860 feet across the Clinch River, and it carries the name of Senator George Norris of Nebraska, who wrote the legislation that created the agency. Behind it the lake reaches 73 miles up the Clinch and 56 miles up the Powell, covering 33,840 acres with 809 miles of shoreline across Anderson, Campbell, Claiborne, Grainger and Union counties. It is the largest reservoir on any tributary of the Tennessee River, and TVA lists 1,113,000 acre-feet of flood storage. Two generating units give the powerhouse a summer net dependable capacity of 126 megawatts.
The level moves more than on most TVA lakes because Norris exists first to catch floodwater. In a normal rainfall year TVA says the lake swings about 29 feet between summer and winter, and TWRA biologists note the annual fluctuation can exceed 45 feet. The pattern follows the rest of the tributary system: the lake is drawn down after Labor Day so there is room for winter and spring runoff, then refilled with the aim of reaching summer level by June 1. How fast it refills depends entirely on rain. In late May 2024 Norris sat five feet low after six dry months before storms brought it up, and in May 2026, during what TVA called the worst drought in almost 20 years, the lake was still seven to eight feet below summer pool heading into Memorial Day weekend. When storms hit, that empty space earns its keep. During the February 2025 floods Norris stored more than 20 feet of water, and TVA estimated the Clinch at Clinton would otherwise have risen 17.6 feet above normal, with more than $89 million in damage prevented.
The lake came at a cost to the valley it filled. TVA bought more than 152,000 acres, and 2,841 families and 5,226 graves were relocated. Loyston, a Union County crossroads settled in the 1800s near where Mill Creek met the Clinch, went under entirely; the wide stretch of water above it is still called the Loyston Sea. To house the construction crews TVA built the town of Norris as a planned community, which became a model for others before it was sold to private owners in 1948. TVA also laid out demonstration parks at Cove Lake, Big Ridge and around the dam in the 1930s, which became the nucleus of Tennessee's state park system. Below the dam the cold release water supports a trout tailwater on the Clinch, where Greg Ensor caught the Tennessee state record brown trout, 28 pounds 12 ounces, on August 30, 1988.
Norris Lake — frequently asked
What is Norris Lake's full pool?
The site uses 1,020 feet above sea level, the lake's normal surface elevation. Norris does not sit at one level year round, though. TVA fills it toward summer level by June 1 and draws it down after Labor Day to make room for winter and spring floods, and in a normal year the difference between summer and winter is about 29 feet.
Why is Norris Lake so low?
Usually because it is doing its job. Norris is lowered each fall to create flood storage, so winter levels are far below summer pool by design. In dry years it can also lag behind its fill schedule. In May 2026 TVA said the lake was seven to eight feet below summer pool, within its normal operating range but short of water because runoff in the watershed was only about 45 percent of normal.
When does Norris Lake reach summer pool?
TVA aims to have its reservoirs at summer levels by June 1 and holds them for recreation through Labor Day, but the refill depends on spring rain rather than a set date. In 2024 the lake was still five feet low around May 22 and reached summer level only after late storms. Low rainfall can leave it several feet short well into the season.
When was Norris Dam built?
Construction started October 1, 1933, a few months after TVA was created, and the gates closed March 4, 1936. The first generator came online July 28, 1936. It was TVA's first dam and cost about $36 million including reservoir lands. The dam is named for Nebraska Senator George Norris, author of the act that created TVA.
What town is under Norris Lake?
Loyston, a Union County community near the mouth of Mill Creek on the Clinch River, was flooded when the lake filled after 1936. The broad open water above the old town site is known as the Loyston Sea. Many residents moved only as far as the nearby hills or to New Loyston to the south. Across the whole basin, 2,841 families and 5,226 graves were moved.
How does Norris Dam help with flooding?
TVA lists more than 1.1 million acre-feet of flood storage at Norris, the largest tributary reservoir in the Tennessee system. In the February 2025 floods the lake held back more than 20 feet of water. TVA said the Clinch River at Clinton would otherwise have reached 17.6 feet above normal and credited the dam with preventing more than $89 million in damage.
What fish live in Norris Lake and below the dam?
TWRA calls smallmouth the lake's premier species, with largemouth second, and stocks about 240,000 walleye plus about 103,000 each of striped bass and crappie a year. The lake produced a 49.5 pound state record striper in April 1978. Norris is one of East Tennessee's least fertile reservoirs. Below the dam, the Clinch tailwater holds rainbow, brown and brook trout.
Other lakes near Norris Lake
- Old Hickory LakeTN
- Normandy LakeTN
- Parksville Lake (Ocoee No. 1)TN
- Nickajack LakeTN
- Pickwick LakeAL/TN/MS
- Melton Hill LakeTN
See current levels for all 23 Tennessee lakes and reservoirs →
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