Wills Creek Lake Water Level
Wills Creek Lake is at 742.13 ft today (Oct 31), 0.13 ft above its 742 ft full pool, down 0.41 ft this week.
Ohio · Wills Creek
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Water level history
About Wills Creek Lake
Wills Creek Lake is a reservoir on the Wills Creek in Ohio, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 742 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Wills Creek Lake's water level
Wills Creek Lake is a small lake sitting in front of a very large flood reservoir. The dam stands near the mouth of Wills Creek, where it meets the Muskingum River on the Coshocton and Muskingum county line about eight miles south of Coshocton, and it controls 842 square miles of the creek's basin, a watershed that reaches upstream past Cambridge and Byesville. At the conservation pool of 742 feet the lake covers about 900 acres and holds roughly 6,000 acre feet. The National Inventory of Dams lists maximum storage at 196,000 acre feet, so the everyday lake fills only about three percent of the space behind the 1,950 foot dam. The rest is kept empty for floods, and that is why the gauge on this page can sit near 742 for months and then climb thirty feet after a wet week.
The dam is one of the fourteen built under the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District plan that grew out of the March 1913 flood. A federal contract signed on March 29, 1934 put $22,090,000 toward fourteen dams and reservoirs on the Walhonding River, the Tuscarawas River and Wills Creek, and the National Inventory of Dams gives 1936 as the year Wills Creek Dam was completed. The Flood Control Act of 1939 transferred ownership of the dams to the United States, and the Huntington District of the Army Corps of Engineers still owns and operates them. The conservancy district manages the reservoir land around the lake, about 2,830 acres in Coshocton and Muskingum counties, which is open to hunting and fishing under Ohio Department of Natural Resources rules. Unlike Bolivar, Dover, Mohawk and Mohicanville, which are dry dams, Wills Creek is one of the ten MWCD reservoirs that keep a permanent lake.
The record came in January 2005, after five to eight inches of rain fell across Ohio and Indiana, with snowmelt running off ground that was already saturated. The pool crested at 779.36 feet, 37.40 feet above normal, breaking the old mark of 776.73 feet set in March 1964. The MWCD reported that Wills Creek reached its designed storage capacity before cresting, and water spilled over the dam's spillway uncontrolled, which has not happened at any other dam in the Huntington District. At that crest the lake spread across roughly 20,452 acres, briefly the largest body of water in Ohio built by people. On a normal day the lake is a quiet place to fish. State rules cap motors at ten horsepower, the conservancy district operates the launch ramp, and the Corps built an accessible fishing pier below the dam, where the Department of Natural Resources also keeps several river access points.
Wills Creek Lake — frequently asked
What is Wills Creek Lake's normal pool level?
The conservation pool, which the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District calls the normal pool, is 742 feet above sea level. At that level the lake covers about 900 acres and stores roughly 6,000 acre feet. Most of the reservoir behind the dam stays empty so it can hold floodwater, which is why readings well above 742 are expected during and after heavy rain.
What is the record high at Wills Creek Lake?
779.36 feet, set during the January 2005 flood. That was 37.40 feet above the normal pool and beat the previous record of 776.73 feet from March 1964. The reservoir filled to its designed storage capacity and water went over the spillway uncontrolled. The gauge panel on this page covers only about 2020 onward, and its high of 772.17 feet in 2024 sits about seven feet below the 2005 crest.
Why does the water level at Wills Creek Lake rise so fast?
The dam was built for flood control. It catches runoff from 842 square miles of the Wills Creek basin and can store about 196,000 acre feet, roughly thirty times what the everyday lake holds. When heavy rain arrives, the Army Corps of Engineers holds water back to cut flooding downstream on the Muskingum, so the pool can climb tens of feet and then fall back toward 742 as the stored water is released.
How big did Wills Creek Lake get in the 2005 flood?
At the January 16, 2005 crest the lake covered about 20,452 acres, more than twenty times its normal 900 acres, and was briefly the largest man made lake in Ohio. Rain of five to eight inches between January 4 and 14 combined with snowmelt and saturated ground. Several other Muskingum reservoirs, including Atwood, Bolivar, Charles Mill, Dillon, Dover and Mohawk, also set new high water marks in that flood.
Is there a horsepower limit on Wills Creek Lake?
Yes. Ohio Administrative Code rule 1501:47-9-01 makes it unlawful to run a boat with a motor over ten horsepower on Wills Creek, the same limit that applies at Beach City, Charles Mill, Clendening, Leesville and Piedmont. Engines modified to change the manufacturer's horsepower rating are also not allowed on district waters. The conservancy district operates the public launch ramp.
What fish are in Wills Creek Lake?
The conservancy district's 2025 map for Wills Creek Lake lists bluegill, bullheads, channel catfish, crappie, flathead catfish, largemouth bass, saugeye and white bass. Anglers need an Ohio fishing license. Below the dam the Corps built an accessible fishing pier, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources runs several access points on the river downstream.
Who owns and runs Wills Creek Dam?
The Huntington District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers owns and operates the dam and decides how much water to store or release. The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, whose 1930s flood plan produced the dam, manages about 2,830 acres of land and the 900 acres of water around the lake for hunting and fishing. Ownership of the dams passed to the federal government under the Flood Control Act of 1939.
Other lakes near Wills Creek Lake
- Alum Creek LakeOH
- Tom Jenkins Lake (Burr Oak)OH
- Atwood LakeOH
- Tappan LakeOH
- Beach City LakeOH
- Senecaville LakeOH
See current levels for all 16 Ohio lakes and reservoirs →
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