74.18 ft Santee Cooper plant datum
level 2.6 ft below full pool — on the low side for mid-August
Reading comes straight from U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (USGS gauge 02171000) and updates live when you load this page.
Lake Marion through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1984–2026. 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.
- 2020 (wettest on record)
- 2008 (driest on record)
- 2025 (last year)
- 2026 (this year)
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 | 76.80 ft Santee Cooper plant datum · per Santee Cooper full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Gauge | USGS gauge 02171000 · U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System |
| Datum | Santee Cooper plant datum — 76.8 ft is the FERC maximum elevation at Santee Dam; the seasonal rule curve runs ~72.0 (winter) to 75.5 (summer), so the lake rarely sits at 76.8. |
| 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 Marion right now?
Lake Marion is at 74.18 ft (Santee Cooper plant datum) as of August 14, 2026 — 2.6 ft below full pool — on the low side for mid-August
Is Lake Marion full?
Not quite — at 74.18 ft, Lake Marion is 2.6 ft below its full pool of 76.80 ft (Santee Cooper plant datum).
What is full pool for Lake Marion?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Lake Marion is 76.80 ft Santee Cooper plant datum, per Santee Cooper full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.