Falls Lake lake and shoreline

Falls Lake Water Level

Officially Falls Lake (Neuse River)

North Carolina

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Falls Lake is currently 4.3 feet below full pool, with a water-surface elevation of 247.7 feet.

247.66 ft · Updated 1 hour ago · U.S. Geological Survey

Current level

247.66ft

−4.34 ft vs full pool

Low

Vs full pool

Since last reading

Down 0.07 ft

Previous readingSep 9247.78 ft

7-day change

Down 0.35 ft

7-day trend: Falling

8 daily readings in the last 7 days

30-day change

Down 1.13 ft

31 daily readings in the last 30 days

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Water Level History

Elevation (ft) NGVD29 · MSL

248 ft250 ft252 ftFULL POOL 252.00 ftAug 12Sep 11

Level status

4.34 ft below full pool

Current level
247.66 ft
Full pool
252 ft
DatumElevation referenced to National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929.
NGVD29
Elevation reference
MSL
Source
USGS

Reference levels

  • Full pool252 ft
  • Flood stage264 ft

Watershed drought

Moderate Drought

100% of watershed in official drought (D1+).

Severity

NoneExtreme
Trend
Stable

Watershed drought conditions

Wake County, NC

Moderate Drought

Moderate Drought. Moderate drought is affecting the watershed.. Trend: Stable compared with last week. Official drought yes

Severity

NoneExtreme

Weekly trend

Stable

Compared with last week

Official drought

Yes

100% of the watershed is currently classified as official drought (D1+).

Expected impacts

  • Stream inflows may run below normal
  • Lake levels can decline faster between rain events
  • Vegetation stress may increase over time

U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 8, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Wake County, NC

Daily level summary

  • Sep 10, 2026

    247.71 ft

    -0.07 ft

  • Sep 9, 2026

    247.78 ft

    -0.07 ft

  • Sep 8, 2026

    247.85 ft

    -0.04 ft

  • Sep 7, 2026

    247.89 ft

    -0.06 ft

  • Sep 6, 2026

    247.95 ft

    -0.05 ft

  • Sep 5, 2026

    248 ft

    +0.03 ft

  • Sep 4, 2026

    247.97 ft

    -0.09 ft

Common questions about Falls Lake’s water level

  • The current water level at Falls Lake is 247.66 ft (updated 1 hour ago). You can track the Falls Lake lake level on the interactive chart and daily history above.

  • Full pool for Falls Lake is 252 ft — the normal conservation target elevation when the reservoir is at its designed summer or operating pool.

  • The current 7-day trend for the Falls Lake lake level is falling — falling about 0.35 ft over the past week. See the history chart above for the full picture.

  • Based on the latest gauge reading, Falls Lake is currently 4.34 ft below full pool.

Lake level glossary

Definitions for pool targets, datums, and how elevation readings are labeled.

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