Lake James lake and shoreline

Lake James Water Level

Officially Lake James (Catawba River)

North Carolina

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Lake James

Lake James is currently 1.6 feet below full pool, with a water-surface elevation of 98.4 feet.

98.41 ft · Updated 2 hours ago · NOAA National Water Prediction Service

Current level

98.41ft

−1.59 ft vs full pool

Normal

Vs full pool

Since last reading

Up 0.79 ft

Previous readingSep 2297.16 ft

7-day change

Up 1.49 ft

7-day trend: Rising

8 daily readings in the last 7 days

30-day change

Down 0.39 ft

31 daily readings in the last 30 days

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Water Level History

Current
98.41 ft
24h
+0.79 ft
7d
+1.49 ft
30d
-0.39 ft

Elevation (ft) Duke full-pond gauge (100.0 = full pond) · Duke full-pond gauge (100.0 = full pond)

Reference line is designed full pool.

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Lake Level Context

Level remains below the full pool

Lake James is currently 98.41 ft, 1.59 ft below its full pool. The lake has risen 1.49 ft over the past 7 days and fallen 0.39 ft over the past 30 days.

Lake James Level Details

Reference elevations, recent daily readings, data sources, and answers to common questions.

Conditions & Reference

Level status

1.59 ft below full pool

Current level
98.41 ft
Full pool
100 ft
DatumVertical reference for published pool and stage elevations at this lake (from the lake catalog).
Duke full-pond gauge (100.0 = full pond)
Elevation reference
Duke full-pond gauge (100.0 = full pond)
Source
NOAA

Reference levels

  • Full pool100 ft

Watershed drought

No Drought

Abnormally dry (D0), not official drought.

Severity

NoneExtreme
Trend
Worsening

Watershed drought conditions

Burke County, NC

No Drought

No Drought. No official drought conditions.. Trend: Worsening compared with last week. Official drought no

Severity

NoneExtreme

Weekly trend

Worsening

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 22, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Burke County, NC

Daily level summary

DateLevelChange
Sep 23, 202697.95+0.79
Sep 22, 202697.16+0.52
Sep 21, 202696.64+0.06
Sep 20, 202696.58+0.07
Sep 19, 202696.51+0.1
Sep 18, 202696.41-0.01
Sep 17, 202696.42-0.04

Common questions about Lake James’s water level

  • The current water level at Lake James is 98.41 ft (updated 2 hours ago). You can track the Lake James lake level on the interactive chart and daily history above.

  • Full pool for Lake James is 100 ft — the normal conservation target elevation when the reservoir is at its designed summer or operating pool.

  • The current 7-day trend for the Lake James lake level is rising — rising about 1.49 ft over the past week. See the history chart above for the full picture.

  • Based on the latest gauge reading, Lake James is currently 1.59 ft below full pool.

Lake level glossary

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

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