Cedar Creek Reservoir lake and shoreline

About Cedar Creek Reservoir

South Carolina

Cedar Creek Reservoir is managed by Duke Energy. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from NOAA / National Weather Service — Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service. Published reference elevations are listed below.

Lake Status

1.76 feet below full pool

−1.76 ft vs full pool

7-day trend
Rising
7-day change
Up 0.17 ft
30-day change
Up 0.71 ft
Last updated
2 hours ago

Cedar Creek Reservoir is currently 1.76 feet below full pool and has risen slightly over the past week. Recent conditions indicate improving reservoir levels, although the lake remains below its normal operating elevation.

Watershed drought conditions

Fairfield County, SC · surrounding county from lake location

Abnormally Dry

The surrounding county is abnormally dry, which is not official drought.

Severity

NoneExtreme

Weekly trend

Worsening

Compared with last week

Official drought

Yes

1.4% of the watershed is currently classified as official drought (D1+).

U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 15, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Fairfield County, SC

Key Facts

Managing authority

Waterbody / project type

Reservoir

Official purposes

Flood Risk Reduction · Fish and Wildlife Pond · Irrigation · RecreationSource: National Inventory of Dams

Full pool

101.00 ft

Current-level source

NOAA / National Weather Service — Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service

Project / NID identifier

Cedar Creek Millpond Dam · SCD02411

Dam / watershed (NID design values)

Static design values from a confidently matched National Inventory of Dams record — not live gage readings.

Normal storage
100 acre-ft
Max storage
162 acre-ft
Surface area at normal pool
24 acres
Dam structure
15 ft high · completed 1964
Hazard classification
High
Safety & inspection
Fair · last inspection Jul 19, 2023

National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Cedar Creek Millpond Dam (SCD02411)

How this lake is operated

  • Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Fish and Wildlife Pond, Irrigation, 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
101.00 ft

Published reference elevation. Not necessarily a fixed year-round target for every project.

Current data source

Managing authority: Duke Energy

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.

How we source lake data · Glossary

Common questions about Cedar Creek Reservoir

Who manages Cedar Creek Reservoir?
Cedar Creek Reservoir is managed by Duke Energy. Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
What is full pool at Cedar Creek Reservoir?
The published full-pool elevation for Cedar Creek Reservoir is 101.00 ft. Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Cedar Creek Reservoir?
Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Cedar Creek Reservoir from NOAA / National Weather Service — Advanced Hydrologic Prediction Service. The managing authority (Duke Energy) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.
What are the documented purposes of Cedar Creek Reservoir?
Documented purposes for Cedar Creek Reservoir (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Fish and Wildlife Pond, Irrigation, Recreation.

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