Lake Barkley is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from NOAA / National Weather Service — Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service. Published reference elevations are listed below.
Lake Status
3.8 feet below full pool
−3.80 ft vs full pool
- 7-day trend
- Falling
- 7-day change
- Down 0.64 ft
- 30-day change
- Down 1.66 ft
- Last updated
- 2 hours ago
Lake Barkley is currently 3.8 feet below full pool and has fallen slightly over the past week. Readings show continued drawdown relative to full pool, with levels trending lower over the past week.
Watershed drought conditions
Lyon County, KY · surrounding county from lake location
No Drought
No official drought conditions.
Severity
Weekly trend
Stable
Compared with last week
Official drought
No
No official drought is reported for the surrounding watershed.
U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 22, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Lyon County, KY
Key Facts
Managing authority
Waterbody / project type
Official purposes
Full pool
Winter pool
Datum
Current-level source
Project / NID identifier
Dam / watershed (NID design values)
Static design values from a confidently matched National Inventory of Dams record — not live gage readings.
- Normal storage
- 869,000 acre-ft
- Max storage
- 2.08M acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 57,920 acres
- Drainage area
- 17,598 sq mi
- Spillway capacity (design)
- 520,000 cfs
- Dam structure
- Gravity · 157 ft high · completed 1966
- Hazard classification
- High
- Safety & inspection
- last inspection Aug 28, 2026 · EAP yes
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Barkley Lock and Dam (KY03001)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Navigation, Fish and Wildlife Pond, Flood Risk Reduction, Hydroelectric, Other, Recreation.
Why the level can change
General factors for reservoirs like this
These are common influences for this type of lake. They do not identify the cause of a specific current change unless an operator update confirms it.
Rainfall & inflows
Rain and upstream river inflows can raise reservoir levels, especially after storms.
Downstream releases
When an operator releases water through a dam, reservoir storage can fall and downstream flows can rise.
Flood-risk operations
Some projects store or release water under flood-risk rules when conditions require it.
Water supply
Some reservoirs support municipal, industrial, irrigation, or regional water-supply needs.
Hydropower
Hydropower projects may pass water through turbines when generating electricity.
Seasonal weather
Dry periods, heat, evaporation, and seasonal rainfall patterns can affect storage over weeks and months.
Published reference elevations
- Full pool
- 359.00 ft
- Winter / seasonal pool
- 354.00 ft
Published reference elevation. Not necessarily a fixed year-round target for every project.
A winter / seasonal pool elevation is published, but Lake Insights does not have verified seasonal operating dates for this lake.
Current data source
Managing authority: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Observation source used by Lake Insights: NOAA / National Weather Service — Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service
Who manages the lake and who publishes the reading Lake Insights displays can differ. Lake Insights does not invent a source label from the managing authority alone.
General education
Shared background — not lake-specific facts
Lake Insights aggregates water level information from authoritative public sources such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, TVA, Bureau of Reclamation, power utilities, and other official lake operators. We preserve historical observations, calculate trends, and present lake conditions in a consistent format. For NOAA / National Weather Service — Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service, we link to the official source whenever it is available. Lake Insights does not predict future lake levels unless an official forecast has been published by the managing authority.
Common questions about Lake Barkley
- Who manages Lake Barkley?
- Lake Barkley is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- What is full pool at Lake Barkley?
- The published full-pool elevation for Lake Barkley is 359.00 ft (NGVD29). Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
- Does Lake Barkley have a published winter pool?
- Lake Barkley has a published winter / seasonal pool elevation of 354.00 ft. Lake Insights does not currently have verified seasonal operating dates for this lake.
- Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Lake Barkley?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Lake Barkley from NOAA / National Weather Service — Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service. The managing authority (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.
- What datum is used for Lake Barkley?
- Elevations for Lake Barkley are referenced to NGVD29 (MSL).
- What are the documented purposes of Lake Barkley?
- Documented purposes for Lake Barkley (National Inventory of Dams): Navigation, Fish and Wildlife Pond, Flood Risk Reduction, Hydroelectric, Other, Recreation.