Dale Hollow is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from Tennessee Valley Authority. Published reference elevations are listed below.
Lake Status
10.1 feet below full pool
−10.10 ft vs full pool
- 7-day trend
- Falling
- 7-day change
- Down 0.48 ft
- 30-day change
- Down 2.80 ft
- Last updated
- 8 hours ago
Dale Hollow is currently 10.1 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
Clay County, TN · surrounding county from lake location
Abnormally Dry
The surrounding county is abnormally dry, which is not official drought.
Severity
Weekly trend
Stable
Compared with last week
Official drought
No
Current conditions are classified as Abnormally Dry (D0), which is not considered official drought.
U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 15, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Clay County, TN
Key Facts
Managing authority
Waterbody / project type
Official purposes
Full pool
Winter pool
Flood stage
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
- 857,000 acre-ft
- Max storage
- 1.71M acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 27,700 acres
- Drainage area
- 935 sq mi
- Spillway capacity (design)
- 175,000 cfs
- Dam structure
- Gravity · 200 ft high · completed 1943
- Hazard classification
- High
- Safety & inspection
- last inspection Mar 27, 2023 · EAP yes
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Dale Hollow Dam (TN02702)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Hydroelectric, Other, Recreation, Water Supply.
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
- 651.00 ft
- Winter / seasonal pool
- 631.00 ft
- Flood stage
- 663.00 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.
Flood stage is not interchangeable with flood pool.
Current data source
Managing authority: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Observation source used by Lake Insights: Tennessee Valley Authority
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 Tennessee Valley Authority, 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 Dale Hollow
- Who manages Dale Hollow?
- Dale Hollow 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 Dale Hollow?
- The published full-pool elevation for Dale Hollow is 651.00 ft (NGVD29). Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
- Does Dale Hollow have a published winter pool?
- Dale Hollow has a published winter / seasonal pool elevation of 631.00 ft. Lake Insights does not currently have verified seasonal operating dates for this lake.
- Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Dale Hollow?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Dale Hollow from Tennessee Valley Authority. 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 Dale Hollow?
- Elevations for Dale Hollow are referenced to NGVD29 (MSL).
- What are the documented purposes of Dale Hollow?
- Documented purposes for Dale Hollow (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Hydroelectric, Other, Recreation, Water Supply.