Overview
Watts Bar Lake is a 39,090-acre reservoir on the Tennessee River in Roane, Meigs, Rhea, and Loudon counties in East Tennessee, roughly midway between Knoxville and Chattanooga. It was created in 1942 when the Tennessee Valley Authority completed Watts Bar Dam for navigation, hydropower, and flood control. As a major mainstem pool, Watts Bar also backs slack water far up the Clinch and Emory rivers, creating one of the largest recreation surfaces in East Tennessee.
Extending about 72 miles upstream to Fort Loudoun Dam with roughly 722 miles of shoreline, Watts Bar also floods more than 20 miles up the Clinch River and about 12 miles up the Emory River. It is held in a narrow navigation band — typically 740 to 741 feet in summer and no lower than 735 feet in winter. Broad embayments, river channels, islands, and creek arms create diverse habitat, while residential development and parks concentrate near Kingston, Spring City, and other shoreline communities.
The lake is a major recreation and fishing destination for largemouth and smallmouth bass, crappie, catfish, and sauger, with fisheries managed by the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. TVA parks, marinas, campgrounds, and public boat ramps provide extensive access, and the lake draws tournament anglers as well as family boaters from across East Tennessee. The Clinch and Emory arms offer quieter alternatives to the busy mainstem channel.
Water levels on Watts Bar Lake are managed by TVA around a summer full pool near 741 feet above mean sea level. Because it sits between Fort Loudoun / Tellico upstream and Lake Chickamauga downstream on the mainstem, elevations respond to basin-wide operations, rainfall, and lock traffic. Monitoring current lake levels is helpful for boating, fishing, and dock access throughout the year.
Current Conditions
Watts Bar Lake is currently at full pool and has fallen slightly over the past week.
- 7-day trendFallingLatest movement can differ from the seven-day trend.
- 7-day changeDown 0.23 ft
- 30-day changeDown 0.05 ft
- Drought conditionsAbnormally Dry
About This Lake
Learn how this lake is managed, what affects its water level, and where Lake Insights gets its data.
Watts Bar Lake is a 39,090-acre reservoir on the Tennessee River (with Clinch and Emory River arms) managed by Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA).