Lake James is managed by Duke Energy. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from NOAA National Water Prediction Service. Published reference elevations are listed below.
Lake Status
1.74 feet below full pool
−1.74 ft vs full pool
- 7-day trend
- Rising
- 7-day change
- Up 1.49 ft
- 30-day change
- Down 0.39 ft
- Last updated
- 4 hours ago
Lake James is currently 1.74 feet below full pool and has been rising over the past week. Recent conditions indicate improving reservoir levels, although the lake remains below its normal operating elevation.
Key Facts
Managing authority
Waterbody / project type
Official purposes
Full 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
- 18 acre-ft
- Max storage
- 29 acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 3 acres
- Drainage area
- 0.3 sq mi
- Spillway capacity (design)
- 348 cfs
- Dam structure
- Earth · 26 ft high
- Hazard classification
- High
- Safety & inspection
- Fair · last inspection Feb 25, 2025
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Jamesford Meadows Dam (NC02802)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): 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
- 100.00 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 Water 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 Water 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.
Common questions about Lake James
- Who manages Lake James?
- Lake James is managed by Duke Energy. Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- What is full pool at Lake James?
- The published full-pool elevation for Lake James is 100.00 ft. Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
- Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Lake James?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Lake James from NOAA National Water 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 Lake James?
- Documented purposes for Lake James (National Inventory of Dams): Recreation.