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River Flows for Hydro Plants

You may track, on an hourly basis, water levels and flows of the recreational rivers and lakes near AEP's hydroelectric facilities. See a map of our plant locations.

Explanation of terms

  • The "Forebay" and "Tailwater" numbers show the feet above sea level of the water levels immediately upstream and downstream from our plants.
  • "Tailwater Flow" is the hourly average of the river flow just downstream of the plants, measured in cubic feet per second.

Updated 18-MAY-2024 11:20 EDT

New River Flows & Forecasts

Water release information for AEP's Claytor, Buck, and Byllesby hydro dams is updated every fifteen minutes. PLEASE NOTE: Forecast information is estimated. Water travel times may be affected by water conditions, precipitation in the watershed and other factors

Most Recent Conditions

Project Normal Full Pond Forebay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Buck 2003.40 2002.91 1961.16 3882
Byllesby 2079.20 2078.82 2023.63 3495
Claytor 1846.00 1845.48 1731.67 4119

See plant-specific notices below.

New River - Downstream Forecasts

Forecast information shows water release information from the Claytor dam, delayed to account for the average time it takes the released water to reach particular points downstream. Water travel times may be affected by water conditions, precipitation in the watershed and other factors.

Kanawha River

Project Normal Full Pond Forebay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
London 614.00 613.98 591.53 10207
Marmet 590.00 590.07 568.23 7294
Winfield 566.00 566.25 540.54 7818

See plant-specific notices below.

Roanoke River

Project Normal Full Pond Forebay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Leesville 613.00.00 607.14 534.45 1082
Niagara 885.00 885.28
Smith Mountain 795.00 793.87 607.44

See plant-specific notices below.

Saint Joseph River

Project Normal Full Pond Forebay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Berrien Springs 623.50 623.56 599.22 6177
Buchanan summer: 637.50
winter: 637.20
637.48 625.51 4156
Constantine 782.90 783.01 772.01
Elkhart 741.50
winter: 739.50
741.57 722.37
Mottville summer: 770.40
winter: 770.00
770.43 759.91 2437
Twin Branch 717.10 716.96 696.69 4314

See plant-specific notices below.

Plant-Specific Notices

As of 05:00 this morning, Saturday May 18, 2024, inflow to the Smith Mountain Project was 1891 CFS and the discharge from Leesville was 2189 CFS. The adjusted reservoir elevations was 794.8 ft. The flow rate at the USGS Gauge at Brookneal was 2920 CFS, Stage 6.74 ft. and at Altavista 2640 CFS, Stage 3.80 ft.