399.64 ft project datum (Entergy 400-ft contour)
level 0.4 ft below full pool — this gauge's public record is too short for seasonal comparisons
Reading comes straight from U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (USGS gauge 07358500) and updates live when you load this page.
Full pool, datum, and the gauge
"Full pool" here means the conservation pool — the level the lake is designed to hold for water supply and recreation, not the flood-control space above it. The full explainer covers flood pool and dead pool too.
| Full pool | 400.00 ft project datum (Entergy 400-ft contour) · per Entergy Arkansas (Carpenter Dam, FERC No. 271) full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Gauge | USGS gauge 07358500 · U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System |
| Datum | project datum (Entergy 400-ft contour) — USGS 00065 gage height reads pool elevation directly (~399.5, held nearly constant). Entergy SMP states the project boundary/ownership extends to the 400-ft contour on Lake Hamilton — Entergy publishes no explicit 'normal pool' number; 400.0 is the maintained level implied by the SMP contour and the gauge record. |
| Last verified | August 15, 2026 |
LakeDates reports lake level, not ramp status. Whether a given ramp or marina is usable at this level varies ramp by ramp — call the marina before you tow.
Quick answers
How full is Lake Hamilton right now?
Lake Hamilton is at 399.64 ft (project datum (Entergy 400-ft contour)) as of August 15, 2026 — 0.4 ft below full pool — this gauge's public record is too short for seasonal comparisons
Is Lake Hamilton full?
Not quite — at 399.64 ft, Lake Hamilton is 0.4 ft below its full pool of 400.00 ft (project datum (Entergy 400-ft contour)).
What is full pool for Lake Hamilton?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Lake Hamilton is 400.00 ft project datum (Entergy 400-ft contour), per Entergy Arkansas (Carpenter Dam, FERC No. 271) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.