Greers Ferry Lake lake and shoreline

About Greers Ferry Lake

Officially Greers Ferry Lake (Little Red River)

Arkansas

Greers Ferry Lake is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Published reference elevations are listed below.

Lake Status

5.45 feet below full pool

−5.45 ft vs full pool

7-day trend
Falling
7-day change
Down 0.70 ft
30-day change
Down 2.72 ft
Last updated
1 hour ago

Greers Ferry Lake is currently 5.45 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

Cleburne County, AR · surrounding county from lake location

Moderate Drought

Moderate drought is affecting the watershed.

Severity

NoneExtreme

Weekly trend

Worsening

Compared with last week

Official drought

Yes

80.5% 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 Cleburne County, AR

Key Facts

Waterbody / project type

Reservoir

Official purposes

Flood Risk Reduction · Fish and Wildlife Pond · Hydroelectric · Irrigation · Recreation · Water SupplySource: National Inventory of Dams

Full pool

462.00 ft

Flood stage

487.00 ft

Datum

NGVD29 · MSL

Current-level source

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Project / NID identifier

Greers Ferry Dam · AR00173

Dam / watershed (NID design values)

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

Normal storage
1.91M acre-ft
Max storage
2.84M acre-ft
Surface area at normal pool
31,460 acres
Drainage area
1,146 sq mi
Spillway capacity (design)
287,000 cfs
Dam structure
Concrete · 251 ft high · completed 1962
Hazard classification
High
Safety & inspection
last inspection Nov 21, 2024 · EAP yes

National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Greers Ferry Dam (AR00173)

How this lake is operated

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

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

Flood stage
487.00 ft

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: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

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 U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, 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 Greers Ferry Lake

Who manages Greers Ferry Lake?
Greers Ferry Lake 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 Greers Ferry Lake?
The published full-pool elevation for Greers Ferry Lake is 462.00 ft (NGVD29). Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Greers Ferry Lake?
Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Greers Ferry Lake from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 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 Greers Ferry Lake?
Elevations for Greers Ferry Lake are referenced to NGVD29 (MSL).
What are the documented purposes of Greers Ferry Lake?
Documented purposes for Greers Ferry Lake (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Fish and Wildlife Pond, Hydroelectric, Irrigation, Recreation, Water Supply.

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