Sutton Lake
Sutton Lake is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Huntington District. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from USACE LRH District.
Lake Status
- 7-day trend
- Stable
- 7-day change
- No meaningful change
- 30-day change
- No meaningful change
- Last updated
- 17 hours ago
Watershed drought conditions
Braxton County, WV · surrounding county from lake location
No Drought
No official drought conditions.
Severity
Weekly trend
Stable
Compared with last week
Official drought
No
No official drought is reported for the surrounding watershed.
U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 8, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Braxton County, WV
Key Facts
Managing authority
Waterbody / project type
Official purposes
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
- 60,100 acre-ft
- Max storage
- 265,300 acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 1,520 acres
- Drainage area
- 537 sq mi
- Spillway capacity (design)
- 222,240 cfs
- Dam structure
- Gravity · 210 ft high · completed 1960
- Hazard classification
- High
- Safety & inspection
- last inspection Oct 24, 2024 · EAP yes
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Sutton Dam (WV00701)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Fish and Wildlife Pond, Other, 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.
Current data source
Managing authority: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Huntington District
Observation source used by Lake Insights: USACE LRH District
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 USACE LRH District, 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 Sutton Lake
- Who manages Sutton Lake?
- Sutton Lake is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Huntington District. Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Sutton Lake?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Sutton Lake from USACE LRH District. The managing authority (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Huntington District) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.
- What are the documented purposes of Sutton Lake?
- Documented purposes for Sutton Lake (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Fish and Wildlife Pond, Other, Recreation.