Lake Sinclair Water Level
Lake Sinclair is at 338.07 ft today (Oct 31), 1.93 ft below its 340 ft full pool, down 0.21 ft this week.
Georgia · Oconee River
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Water level history
About Lake Sinclair
Lake Sinclair is a reservoir on the Oconee River in Georgia, operated by Georgia Power. Its full summer pool sits at 340 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the NOAA National Water Prediction Service gauge at the dam and update hourly.
Understanding Lake Sinclair's water level
Lake Sinclair is the bottom half of a two lake machine. Georgia Power's Wallace Dam, finished in 1979 at the head of the lake, is a 321 megawatt pumped storage plant with Lake Oconee as its upper reservoir and Sinclair as its lower one. When Wallace generates, water drops out of Oconee through a 20,000 foot tailrace straight into the upper Oconee River arm of Sinclair. Water that Sinclair Dam does not use for its own generation sits in the lake for a few hours before Wallace's pumpback units lift it back up to Oconee. So the reading at the Sinclair Dam end is always a balance between what Wallace has sent down, what it has pulled back, and what Sinclair has passed through to the Oconee River below Milledgeville. Full pool is 340 feet, measured in Georgia Power's Plant Datum, which runs 0.20 feet below NAVD88 sea level.
Sinclair Dam itself took a quarter century. Georgia Power started it in 1929, stopped in 1930 through the Depression and the war, picked it back up in 1945 and finished in 1953. The dam is 104 feet high and 2,988 feet long, with two 22.5 megawatt units, and it backs up about 15,330 acres across Baldwin, Hancock and Putnam counties, holding around 333,000 acre-feet at normal level. Its current federal license, FERC Project 1951, was issued in March 1996 and runs to April 2036. The license sets a minimum release of 250 cubic feet per second below the dam. In a drought, when calculated inflow falls short of that, Georgia Power releases water from Lake Oconee to hold Sinclair at or above 338.2 feet, the lowest level at which Wallace can pump back safely. That backstop has been used often: 108 days in 2007, 84 in 2008, 89 in 2011 and 126 in 2012, the longest stretch running from late May to early November.
Every five years Georgia Power deliberately pulls Sinclair down about five feet so owners can repair seawalls, docks, boathouses and lifts that are normally underwater. The last one started 25 October 2025, reached its low by 2 November and began refilling on 1 December. Shoreline work needs a Georgia Power permit, which is free. The lake also carries the legacy of Plant Harllee Branch, the coal plant on its Putnam County shore that began construction in 1961, ran four units by 1969 and was retired in 2015. Its four ash ponds are being dug out and moved to a lined landfill on site, with treated water discharged to the lake, a job expected in 2022 to take about fifteen more years. For anglers, state biologists list largemouth, crappie, hybrids, catfish and stripers as the best bets, and they note that fishing is often better when Wallace is generating or pumping back and the water is moving.
Lake Sinclair — frequently asked
What is Lake Sinclair's full pool level?
340 feet, in Georgia Power's Plant Datum, which is 0.20 feet below NAVD88 mean sea level. At that level the lake covers about 15,330 acres and holds around 333,000 acre-feet behind Sinclair Dam. The dam's maximum storage, with water up into flood surcharge, is about 490,000 acre-feet. Readings a few tenths below 340 are normal on any given day because water is constantly moving between Sinclair and Lake Oconee.
Why does Lake Sinclair's level go up and down every day?
Sinclair is the lower reservoir for Wallace Dam, the pumped storage plant that forms Lake Oconee. When Wallace generates, it releases water from Oconee into the top of Sinclair. Water that Sinclair Dam does not pass downstream stays in the lake a few hours and is then pumped back up to Oconee. Lake Oconee itself is normally run between 433.5 and 435 feet, an average daily swing of about 1.5 feet.
How low can Lake Sinclair get in a drought?
Georgia Power's operating rule is to keep Sinclair at or above 338.2 feet Plant Datum, which is the minimum level for Wallace Dam to pump back safely, so less than two feet below full pool. When inflow at Sinclair falls below the 250 cubic feet per second minimum release, water is sent down from Lake Oconee to make up the difference. This happened for 108 days in 2007, 89 in 2011 and 126 in 2012.
When is the next Lake Sinclair drawdown?
Georgia Power draws Sinclair down about five feet every five years so property owners can work on seawalls, docks, boathouses and boat lifts. The most recent drawdown began 25 October 2025, hit its low around 2 November, and refilling started 1 December. On that cycle the next one would fall around 2030. Almost all shoreline work, including repairs, needs a free Georgia Power permit.
Has Lake Sinclair flooded?
Sinclair has floodgates for high inflow. On 13 January 2020, after several days of heavy rain, Georgia Power opened a floodgate at Sinclair Dam to relieve rising water upstream, with the lake reading 339.70 feet. Higher water below the dam closed the Oconee Greenway in Milledgeville. The USGS gauge at the dam, Oconee River at Milledgeville, has a flow record going back to September 1903.
What happened to Plant Branch on Lake Sinclair?
Plant Harllee Branch, a Georgia Power coal plant on the Putnam County shore, began construction in 1961, had four units running by 1969 and was retired in 2015, after which it stopped drawing lake water for cooling. In early 2016 the company halted weeks of emergency pumping of ash pond water into the lake. Its four ash ponds are being excavated into a lined landfill on site, expected in 2022 to take about fifteen more years.
What is the fishing like on Lake Sinclair?
Georgia DNR rates largemouth, crappie, hybrid bass, catfish and striped bass as the best bets. Biologists expect hybrids of 16 to 22 inches from the 2022 and 2023 year classes, stripers over 10 pounds are showing up, and blue catfish now outnumber channel cats, with trophy blues in the 40 to 50 pound range possible. They also advise fishing when Wallace Dam is generating or pumping back, since moving water concentrates fish.
Other lakes near Lake Sinclair
- Walter F. George Reservoir (Lake Eufaula)GA/AL
- Lake SeminoleGA/FL
- West Point LakeGA/AL
- Richard B. Russell LakeGA/SC
- Lake AllatoonaGA
- Lake OconeeGA
See current levels for all 16 Georgia lakes and reservoirs →
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