98.41 ft Duke plant datum (100 ft full pond)
level 1.6 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 BRWN7) 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 | 100.00 ft Duke plant datum (100 ft full pond) · per Duke Energy full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Gauge | NOAA gauge BRWN7 · NOAA National Water Prediction Service |
| Datum | Duke plant datum (100 ft full pond) — NWPS gauge zero documented at 1,100 ft NGVD29, so 100 ft plant datum = 1,200 ft msl full pond (NWS action stage here is 101). |
| 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 James right now?
Lake James is at 98.41 ft (Duke plant datum (100 ft full pond)) as of August 15, 2026 — 1.6 ft below full pool — this gauge's public record is too short for seasonal comparisons
Is Lake James full?
Not quite — at 98.41 ft, Lake James is 1.6 ft below its full pool of 100.00 ft (Duke plant datum (100 ft full pond)).
What is full pool for Lake James?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Lake James is 100.00 ft Duke plant datum (100 ft full pond), per Duke Energy full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.