Pomme de Terre Lake Water Level
Pomme de Terre Lake is at 838.17 ft today (Oct 19), 0.83 ft below its 839 ft full pool, up 0.04 ft this week.
Missouri · Pomme de Terre River
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Water level history
About Pomme de Terre Lake
Pomme de Terre Lake is a reservoir on the Pomme de Terre River in Missouri, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 839 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Pomme de Terre Lake's water level
Pomme de Terre Lake sits on the Pomme de Terre River about two miles south of Hermitage, behind a rolled earth and rock fill dam 155 feet high that the Kansas City District of the Corps of Engineers completed in 1961. Storage began on October 29, 1961, and the lake first reached its multipurpose pool on June 15, 1963. That pool tops out at 839 feet, covering 7,820 acres with 113 miles of shoreline. Everything above 839 is flood storage. The spillway crest sits at 874 feet, and between those two elevations the lake can hold roughly 407,000 more acre feet of runoff from a 611 square mile drainage. The spillway is uncontrolled, so routine releases go through a 14 foot circular tunnel fitted with two hydraulic slide gates. Below the dam the river continues into an arm of Truman Lake, which makes Pomme de Terre one piece of the Osage basin system along with Stockton and Truman. In December 2015 and January 2016 all three lakes were filling at once while the Corps shut down releases from Truman to protect communities downstream.
The level spends most of its life close to 839. In USGS daily records that begin in October 1988, the lowest daily reading is 833.90 feet on November 1, 2010, only about five feet under normal pool, and in most years the lowest reading stays within about two feet of 839. The highs are a different story. The top daily reading in that record is 864.68 feet on June 18, 2019, about 26 feet above normal pool and roughly ten feet below the spillway crest, after a wet May that closed some waterside campsites and delayed the opening of both state park beaches. September 1993 came close at 864.58 feet, and the lake also passed 863 feet in May 1994, at the end of December 2015 and in May 2017. The 854.10 feet shown as the recent high on this page's gauge came on May 7, 2022, well short of those flood years. Since then the lake has peaked at 853.45 feet in June 2024 and 851.84 feet in late June 2026.
Pomme de Terre is where Missouri's muskie program began. The Missouri Department of Conservation first stocked the lake in 1966 with about 51,000 small fingerlings and roughly 1,500 larger ones, and it put close to 249,000 muskies into the lake through 2016. Since 2015 the stocking rate has been 4,700 fingerlings a year. The department's 2018 muskie management plan calls Pomme de Terre a flagship lake, the largest and most important water in the program. Spring fyke net surveys from 1996 to 2016 averaged 5.5 muskies per net day, yet anglers in the Show Me Muskie Project averaged 46 hours for each legal fish, and the statewide minimum length is 36 inches. Creel surveys from 2004 to 2011 recorded no harvest at all. Pomme de Terre State Park covers both the Hermitage and Pittsburg sides of the lake, with two swimming beaches and a marina on the Pittsburg side, while the Corps runs its own campgrounds such as Damsite, Outlet Park, Nemo Landing, Lightfoot Landing and Wheatland Park.
Pomme de Terre Lake — frequently asked
What is Pomme de Terre Lake's full pool?
Normal or multipurpose pool is 839 feet above sea level. At that elevation the lake covers 7,820 acres and holds about 237,000 acre feet. The Corps counts everything from 839 up to the spillway crest at 874 feet as flood storage, and at 874 the lake would spread over roughly 16,100 acres. The bottom of the conservation pool is 751 feet, just above the old streambed.
What is the record high level at Pomme de Terre Lake?
The highest daily reading in USGS records, which start in October 1988, is 864.68 feet on June 18, 2019, about 26 feet above normal pool. September 1993 was nearly identical at 864.58 feet. Other big years were May 1994 at 863.15, December 2015 at 863.90 and May 2017 at 863.65. Even the 2019 crest stayed about ten feet below the spillway crest at 874.
How low does Pomme de Terre Lake get?
Not very. Since daily USGS records began in 1988, the lowest reading is 833.90 feet on November 1, 2010, about five feet below normal pool. In most years the lowest reading stays within about two feet of normal pool. Low water here is measured in a few feet, while high water after a wet spring can run 15 to 25 feet above normal pool.
Why is Pomme de Terre Lake above normal pool?
Water above 839 feet is flood storage. The lake catches runoff from 611 square miles of the upper Pomme de Terre River, and the river below the dam flows into an arm of Truman Lake on the Osage. During the wet winter of 2015 into 2016, Pomme de Terre, Stockton and Truman were all filling at once while the Corps shut down Truman releases to protect downstream communities.
When was Pomme de Terre Dam built?
Construction started in 1957 and the dam was completed in 1961 at a cost of about $14.9 million. Water storage began on October 29, 1961, and the lake reached its 839 foot multipurpose pool on June 15, 1963. The Kansas City District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns and operates the dam, an earth and rock fill structure 155 feet high.
Is Pomme de Terre Lake good for muskie?
It is the flagship of Missouri's muskie program and the first lake stocked, in 1966. The Missouri Department of Conservation now stocks 4,700 fingerlings a year. Spring net surveys from 1996 to 2016 averaged 5.5 muskies per net day, but anglers logged an average of 46 hours per legal fish. The minimum length is 36 inches, and anglers release almost everything they catch.
What does the recent high of 854.1 feet on the gauge mean?
The gauge on this page only looks back about five years. Its recent high of 854.10 feet came on May 7, 2022, about 15 feet above normal pool. That is a modest flood by Pomme de Terre standards. Since 1988 the lake has crested above 863 feet in 1993, 1994, 2015, 2017 and 2019, topping out at 864.68 feet in June 2019.
Flow released below Pomme de Terre 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 Pomme de Terre Lake
- Smithville LakeMO
- Lake of the OzarksMO
- Stockton LakeMO
- Norfork LakeAR/MO
- Table Rock LakeMO
- Mark Twain LakeMO
See current levels for all 12 Missouri lakes and reservoirs →
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