Skip to main content

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-MAR-2024 23:50 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 2002.89 1961.57 2468
Byllesby 2079.20 2078.73 2023.00 2278
Claytor 1846.00 1845.37 1731.44 3720

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 614.00 614.10 591.44 8722
Marmet 590.00 590.01 568.23 7301
Winfield 566.00 566.27 541.40 11440

See plant-specific notices below.

Roanoke River

Project Normal Full Pond Forebay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Leesville 613.00.00 605.76 532.05 1081
Niagara 885.00 884.75
Smith Mountain 795.00 794.47 606.28

See plant-specific notices below.

Saint Joseph River

Project Normal Full Pond Forebay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Berrien Springs 623.50 623.51 599.18 6214
Buchanan summer: 637.50
winter: 637.20
637.48 625.40 3937
Constantine 782.90 783.62 771.77
Elkhart 741.50
winter: 739.50
739.55 722.12
Mottville summer: 770.40
winter: 770.00
770.42 759.55 2038
Twin Branch 717.10 716.92 696.44 3697

See plant-specific notices below.

Plant-Specific Notices

As of 05:00 this morning, Monday March 18, 2024, inflow to the Smith Mountain Project was 1251 CFS and the discharge from Leesville was 1731 CFS. The adjusted reservoir elevations was 795.2 ft. The flow rate at the USGS Gauge at Brookneal was 2280 CFS, Stage 6.06 ft. and at Altavista 1950 CFS, Stage 3.25 ft.