Fontana Lake is managed by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) — Lake Levels & Generation Data. Published reference elevations are listed below.
Lake Status
23.63 feet below full pool
−23.63 ft vs full pool
- 7-day trend
- Falling
- 7-day change
- Down 4.07 ft
- 30-day change
- Down 14.19 ft
- Last updated
- 1 hour ago
Fontana Lake is currently 23.63 feet below full pool and has been falling over the past week. Readings show continued drawdown relative to full pool, with levels trending lower over the past week.
Watershed drought conditions
Swain County, NC · surrounding county from lake location
Moderate Drought
Moderate drought is affecting the watershed.
Severity
Weekly trend
Stable
Compared with last week
Official drought
Yes
72% 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 22, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Swain County, NC
Key Facts
Managing authority
Waterbody / project type
Official purposes
Full pool
Winter pool
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
- 1.37M acre-ft
- Max storage
- 1.55M acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 10,290 acres
- Drainage area
- 1,571 sq mi
- Spillway capacity (design)
- 189,000 cfs
- Dam structure
- Concrete · 480 ft high · completed 1944
- Hazard classification
- High
- Safety & inspection
- last inspection Feb 15, 2024
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Fontana Dam (NC00298)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Hydroelectric, Navigation, 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
- 1710.00 ft
- Winter / seasonal pool
- 1652.00 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: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)
Observation source used by Lake Insights: Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) — Lake Levels & Generation Data
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 (TVA) — Lake Levels & Generation Data, 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 Fontana Lake
- Who manages Fontana Lake?
- Fontana Lake is managed by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA). Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- What is full pool at Fontana Lake?
- The published full-pool elevation for Fontana Lake is 1710.00 ft. Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
- Does Fontana Lake have a published winter pool?
- Fontana Lake has a published winter / seasonal pool elevation of 1652.00 ft. Lake Insights does not currently have verified seasonal operating dates for this lake.
- Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Fontana Lake?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Fontana Lake from Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) — Lake Levels & Generation Data. The managing authority (Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA)) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.
- What are the documented purposes of Fontana Lake?
- Documented purposes for Fontana Lake (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Hydroelectric, Navigation, Recreation, Water Supply.