R.D. Bailey Lake Water Level
R.D. Bailey Lake is at 1,035.66 ft today (Oct 31), 0.66 ft above its 1,035 ft full pool, up 0.02 ft this week.
West Virginia · Guyandotte River
Full pool is the summer level. R.D. Bailey Lake is drawn down about 23 ft to roughly 1012 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 R.D. Bailey Lake
R.D. Bailey Lake is a reservoir on the Guyandotte River in West Virginia, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 1035 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding R.D. Bailey Lake's water level
R.D. Bailey Lake exists to catch the Guyandotte River before it reaches Logan, Huntington and the towns in between, and the gauge shows it. The Corps of Engineers' Huntington District built a rockfill dam with a concrete face near Justice, 310 feet high and about 1,400 feet across, the second tallest dam in West Virginia after Summersville. It controls 540 square miles of drainage. In summer the lake sits at 1,035 feet, while the top of the flood pool is 1,155 feet and the top of the dam is 1,200, so there are roughly 120 feet of empty canyon kept in reserve for storm runoff. A lake that is normally about seven miles long would back up some 22 miles at full flood storage. The intake tower rises the full height of the dam with gates at four levels, letting operators pick which layer of water to release for temperature and water quality downstream.
The level follows a simple two step calendar. Winter pool is 1,012 feet, about 440 acres of water. The Corps rule curve lifts the lake starting around the beginning of April and reaches the summer pool of 1,035 feet, about 630 acres, by mid April, then holds it through September. The fall drawdown normally begins November 1 and reaches winter pool by December 1. Separate summer and winter launch ramps handle the change, and when the Corps started the drawdown two weeks early in 2022 to finish a waterline crossing between Big Branch Day Use Area and Guyandotte Point, the water fell about two feet a day and the Corps warned of exposed shoreline. Below 900 feet is dead storage the outlet works cannot draw from; the old streambed lies near 892.
Storms move this lake faster than the seasons do. On February 27, 2021 the pool read 1,012.2 feet. By March 4 it peaked at 1,111.5, nearly a hundred feet of rise in five days, and it took until about March 14 to work back down near 1,040. The Corps lists the top of record at 1,114.65 feet, a little above that 2021 crest. In mid February 2025 the lake climbed past 1,100 feet again. Construction began in June 1967, the dam began regulating river flow in February 1980, and the project was dedicated that August at a cost of $180 million. First known as Justice Lake, it is named for Judge Robert D. Bailey Sr. of Pineville, who presided over the Matewan Massacre trial. Around it the Corps holds about 19,000 acres leased to the state as the R.D. Bailey Wildlife Management Area.
R.D. Bailey Lake — frequently asked
What is R.D. Bailey Lake's full pool?
Summer pool is 1,035 feet above sea level, held from mid April through September, when the lake covers about 630 acres. Winter pool is 1,012 feet and about 440 acres. Neither is the physical top: the flood control pool runs up to 1,155 feet and the dam crest is 1,200 feet, so readings well above 1,035 after heavy rain mean the Corps is storing floodwater, not that the lake is overfull.
What is the record high at R.D. Bailey Lake?
The Corps of Engineers lists the top of record at 1,114.65 feet, about 80 feet above summer pool and still roughly 40 feet below the top of the flood pool. The highest reading in recent years was 1,111.5 feet on March 4, 2021, so the recent records row on this page is not the all time mark. The lake also passed 1,100 feet in mid February 2025.
How fast did the lake rise in March 2021?
Very fast. The pool sat at winter level, 1,012.2 feet, on February 27, 2021. Heavy rain sent it to 1,058.6 by March 1, 1,097.7 by March 2, and a peak of 1,111.5 feet on March 4. The Corps then released the stored water over about ten days, bringing the lake back near 1,040 feet by mid March before dropping it to winter pool.
When does R.D. Bailey Lake draw down for winter?
The normal schedule starts lowering the lake November 1 and reaches winter pool, 1,012 feet, by December 1. Some years differ: in 2022 the Corps began on October 15 to finish a waterline crossing in better weather, dropping about two feet a day and reaching winter pool around November 1. The lake uses separate summer and winter launch ramps, and the Corps posts ramp changes on its Facebook page and the lake information line, 304-664-3229.
When does the lake fill back up to summer pool?
The rule curve holds winter pool through March, then raises the lake 23 feet so it reaches 1,035 feet by about mid April. Because the reservoir is small at those elevations and drains 540 square miles, a wet spring can fill it quickly; the Corps can just as easily hold water above summer pool for days after a storm while it releases flood storage at a rate the river below can carry.
How low has R.D. Bailey Lake gone in recent years?
The lowest reading in recent Corps gauge data is 994.89 feet on November 5, 2021, about 17 feet under the usual 1,012 foot winter pool. That fall the lake held summer pool until mid October, fell steadily for about two weeks, sat near 995 feet into the second week of November, and then climbed back gradually, reaching winter pool again in early December.
What is the fishing like at R.D. Bailey Lake?
West Virginia DNR lists it among the state's favorite waters for hybrid striped bass and striped bass, largemouth bass and crappie, with a special limit of four of those striped bass types, 15 inches minimum. Both state record spotted bass entries came from R.D. Bailey, including a 4.77 pound fish in 2000. DNR advises no more than one meal a month of channel catfish over 17 inches because of PCBs, and stocks trout in the tailwaters below the dam.
Other lakes near R.D. Bailey Lake
- Summersville LakeWV
- East Lynn LakeWV
- Sutton LakeWV
- Burnsville LakeWV
- Beech Fork LakeWV
- Bluestone LakeWV
See current levels for all 7 West Virginia lakes and reservoirs →
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