551.86 ft NGVD29
level 0.1 ft below full pool — typical for late September
Reading comes straight from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data (USACE lake gauge) and updates live when you load this page.
Is Barren River Lake full?
Not quite — 0.1 ft below full pool as of September 23, 2026
How full is Barren River Lake? 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.
Barren River Lake through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 2002–2026. The summer drawdown — and how this year sits in it — shows up without reading a single number.
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.
- 2026 (this year)
- 2025 (last year, wettest on record)
- 2012 (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 | 552.00 ft NGVD29 · per USACE Louisville District full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Gauge | USACE lake gauge · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data |
| Datum | NGVD29 — Top of the conservation pool is 552.0 ft in summer; the winter guide drops to 525 ft. |
| 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 Barren River Lake today?
Barren River Lake is at 551.86 ft (NGVD29) as of September 23, 2026 — 0.1 ft below full pool — typical for late September.
Is Barren River Lake full?
Not quite — at 551.86 ft on September 23, 2026, Barren River Lake is 0.1 ft below its full pool of 552.00 ft (NGVD29).
How full is Barren River Lake?
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 Barren River Lake?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Barren River Lake is 552.00 ft NGVD29, per USACE Louisville District full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.