North Carolina · TVA

Fontana Lake water level

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

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

FULL POOL 1685 1690 1695 1700
Elevation, feet (TVA datum (ft msl))

as of September 24, 2026

1686.15 ft TVA datum (ft msl)

level 16.8 ft below full pool — this gauge's public record is too short for seasonal comparisons

Reading comes straight from NOAA National Water Prediction Service (NOAA gauge FONN7) and updates live when you load this page.


Is Fontana Lake full?

Not quite — 16.8 ft below full pool as of September 24, 2026

How full is Fontana 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.


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 1703.00 ft TVA datum (ft msl) · per TVA full-pool reference
Gauge NOAA gauge FONN7 · NOAA National Water Prediction Service
Datum TVA datum (ft msl) — Full pool here is the 1,703 ft peak of TVA's summer flood guide; the 1,710 ft top of gates is the number quoted elsewhere, and TVA rarely fills above the guide.
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 Fontana Lake today?

Fontana Lake is at 1686.15 ft (TVA datum (ft msl)) as of September 24, 2026 — 16.8 ft below full pool — this gauge's public record is too short for seasonal comparisons.

Is Fontana Lake full?

Not quite — at 1686.15 ft on September 24, 2026, Fontana Lake is 16.8 ft below its full pool of 1703.00 ft (TVA datum (ft msl)).

How full is Fontana 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 Fontana Lake?

Full pool (the conservation pool) for Fontana Lake is 1703.00 ft TVA datum (ft msl), per TVA full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.