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Georgia · USACE Savannah District

Lake Hartwell water level

Today's reading against full pool and Lake Hartwell's own seasonal history.

Searched “Hartwell lake level” or “lake level for Lake Hartwell”? Same lake, same reading — you're in the right place. The current reading is right here too, whether you typed “current Lake Hartwell water level” or “current water level at Lake Hartwell”.

FULL POOL 650 655 660
Elevation, feet (USACE project datum (ft msl))

as of September 24, 2026

649.20 ft USACE project datum (ft msl)

level 10.8 ft below full pool — unusually low for late September

Reading comes straight from U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (USGS gauge 02187010) and updates live when you load this page.

Is Lake Hartwell full?

Not quite — 10.8 ft below full pool as of September 24, 2026

How full is Lake Hartwell? Not as a percentage: no storage figure comes through with this gauge reading, and a share of capacity worked out from the elevation alone would be a guess — how much water a reservoir holds at a given level is a curve only the operator's own capacity table knows. Feet from full pool is what the operator publishes, and it is the figure above.

Lake Hartwell through the year

The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 2005–2026. The summer drawdown — and how this year sits in it — shows up without reading a single number.

full pool 650 655 660 JFMAMJJASOND
Median and normal range by day of year, 2005–2026 · elevation, feet (USACE project datum (ft msl))

This year vs the years that matter

This year's trace against last year and the driest and wettest years on record — the drought-context question every lake regular asks.

full pool 640 650 660 JFMAMJJASOND
  • 2026 (this year)
  • 2025 (last year)
  • 2020 (wettest on record)
  • 2008 (driest on record)

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 660.00 ft USACE project datum (ft msl) · per USACE Savannah District full-pool reference
Gauge USGS gauge 02187010 · U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System
Datum USACE project datum (ft msl) — CWMS Top of Conservation seasonal 656-660 ft; 660 is summer full pool.
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

What is the lake level for Lake Hartwell today?

Lake Hartwell is at 649.20 ft (USACE project datum (ft msl)) as of September 24, 2026 — 10.8 ft below full pool — unusually low for late September.

Is Lake Hartwell full?

Not quite — at 649.20 ft on September 24, 2026, Lake Hartwell is 10.8 ft below its full pool of 660.00 ft (USACE project datum (ft msl)).

How full is Lake Hartwell?

Not as a percentage: no storage figure comes through with this gauge reading, and a share of capacity worked out from the elevation alone would be a guess — how much water a reservoir holds at a given level is a curve only the operator's own capacity table knows. Feet from full pool is what the operator publishes, and it is the figure above.

What is full pool for Lake Hartwell?

Full pool (the conservation pool) for Lake Hartwell is 660.00 ft USACE project datum (ft msl), per USACE Savannah District full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.