Pomona Lake Water Level
Pomona Lake is at 974.57 ft today (Oct 31), 0.57 ft above its 974 ft full pool, up 0.02 ft this week.
Kansas · One Hundred Ten Mile Creek
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Water level history
About Pomona Lake
Pomona Lake is a reservoir on the One Hundred Ten Mile Creek in Kansas, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 974 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Pomona Lake's water level
Pomona Lake sits on Hundred and Ten Mile Creek in Osage County, but most of its water arrives by way of Dragoon Creek, which drains 234 of the lake's 322 square miles of watershed. Below the dam, 110 Mile Creek runs about eight miles before it joins the Marais des Cygnes River, and the Corps names Ottawa as the town downstream that a dam failure would flood. Construction began in 1959, the gates closed in 1962, the dam was finished in 1963, and the lake was dedicated on September 5, 1964. The embankment is 7,750 feet long and about 110 feet high. The Corps puts the flood damage it prevented from 1962 through 2020 at roughly $707 million in 2021 dollars, and it operates Pomona with its other projects for flood control on the Kansas, Missouri and Mississippi river basins.
The number to know is 974 feet, the top of the conservation pool. Between 974 and 1,003 feet is flood storage, about 239,000 acre-feet, held back after heavy rain and let out afterward into the Marais des Cygnes. The emergency spillway crest is at 1,006 feet. The gauge panel on this page covers only about 2020 onward: its high of 993.17 feet in 2021 put the lake roughly 19 feet into that flood pool, and its low of 971.56 feet in 2023 was about two and a half feet below normal. High water hits the shoreline first. In May 2019 the Corps closed boat ramps, nearby roads and about 90 campsites, and in July 2024 the Pomona beach closed while operations manager Scott Rice explained that the campsites, built close to the water, are the first to go under.
The pool is also a water supply. Ottawa draws its water from the Marais des Cygnes and has bought storage in Pomona and Melvern so the river keeps running in a drought, and Osage County Rural Water District 3 takes drinking water from the lake. That pool is shrinking. At 974 feet it held 70,603 acre-feet in 1964 and 55,514 acre-feet in a 2009 survey, and sediment piles up fastest at the Dragoon Creek inlet, where the survey found deposits about 135 centimeters thick. The lake averages only 16 feet deep. Since 2002 blue-green algae have been the main algae in the lake, and KDHE kept a warning on Pomona from June 8 to June 22, 2023. The lake's worst day came on June 17, 1978, when a tornado capsized the showboat Whippoorwill with 58 people aboard and 16 drowned.
Pomona Lake — frequently asked
What is Pomona Lake's full pool?
Normal pool is 974 feet, the top of the conservation pool. At that level the lake covers roughly 3,900 to 4,000 acres and, according to a 2009 survey, holds about 55,500 acre-feet. Anything above 974 is flood storage, which runs up to 1,003 feet. The bottom of the conservation pool is 936 feet, so the water supply and fishery all live in a band less than 40 feet deep.
How high can Pomona Lake rise?
The flood control pool tops out at 1,003 feet, 29 feet above normal, with about 239,000 acre-feet of storage behind the dam at that level. The emergency spillway crest is at 1,006 feet and the top of the dam at 1,031. The highest reading on this page's recent gauge panel, which covers only about 2020 onward, is 993.17 feet in 2021, about two thirds of the way up the flood pool.
Why is Pomona Lake so high?
When heavy rain falls on the Dragoon Creek and 110 Mile Creek watersheds, the runoff is caught in the flood pool above 974 feet instead of running straight down the Marais des Cygnes, and the Corps empties it later through releases to the river. Campsites, ramps and the beach sit near the shoreline, so closures follow quickly, as they did in May 2019, when about 90 sites closed, and in July 2024, when the beach closed.
Who uses Pomona Lake's water?
The city of Ottawa, which treats water from the Marais des Cygnes River, has bought storage in Pomona and Melvern for drought resiliency and belongs to the Marais des Cygnes River Water Assurance District. Osage County Rural Water District 3 also uses the lake as a drinking water source. During dry spells, water released from storage helps keep the river flowing for these users downstream.
Is Pomona Lake filling with sediment?
Yes. At normal pool the lake held 70,603 acre-feet in 1964 and 55,514 acre-feet by 2009. KDHE calculated a sedimentation rate of 334 acre-feet a year, above the 294 acre-feet the dam was designed for, and called for cutting it by at least 22 percent to reach the lake's 100 year design life. Deposits are thickest where Dragoon Creek enters the lake.
What happened to the Whippoorwill on Pomona Lake?
On the evening of June 17, 1978, a tornado formed quickly and struck very near the Whippoorwill, a showboat carrying 58 passengers and crew. The boat capsized and 16 people drowned, with three more injured. The National Weather Service attributes the deaths to the tornado, which tracked about eight miles generally east before dissipating near Michigan Valley.
What is the fishing like at Pomona Lake?
Kansas Wildlife and Parks rates the channel, blue and flathead catfish excellent and says blue catfish are improving in size and numbers. White bass, wipers and crappie rate good. Largemouth bass rate poor. Biologists note that the outlet, spillway and stilling basin fish very well when the Corps is making large releases. Zebra mussels are in the lake, so boats should be cleaned, drained and dried.
Other lakes near Pomona Lake
- Toronto LakeKS
- Perry LakeKS
- Tuttle Creek LakeKS
- Milford LakeKS
- Waconda Lake (Glen Elder)KS
- Melvern LakeKS
See current levels for all 21 Kansas lakes and reservoirs →
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