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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 20-MAR-2023 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 Forbay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Buck 2003.40 2003.04 1960.71 2211
Byllesby 2079.20 2078.79 2023.37 1981
Claytor 1846.00 1845.65 1731.01 2848

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 Forbay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
London 614.00 613.91 591.84 7727
Marmet 590.00 590.39 568.43 3826
Winfield 566.00 566.17 539.98 11929

See plant-specific notices below.

Roanoke River

Project Normal Full Pond Forbay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Leesville 613.00.00 608.98 531.47 936
Niagara 885.00 885.25
Smith Mountain 795.00 794.09 607.81

See plant-specific notices below.

Saint Joseph River

Project Normal Full Pond Forbay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Berrien Springs 623.50 623.52 600.19 7974
Buchanan summer: 637.50
winter: 637.00
637.48 626.49 6541
Constantine 782.90 783.62 772.50
Elkhart 741.50
winter: 739.50
739.73 722.72
Mottville summer: 770.40
winter: 770.00
770.44 760.83 3313
Twin Branch 717.10 716.99 697.00 6844

See plant-specific notices below.

Plant-Specific Notices

AS OF 05:00 THIS MORNING MONDAY MARCH 20, 2023, INFLOW TO THE SMITH MOUNTAIN PROJECT WAS 1165 CFS AND THE DISCHARGE FROM LEESVILLE 931 CFS. THE ADJUSTED RESERVOIR ELEVATION WAS 795.28'. THE FLOW RATE AT THE USGS GAUGE AT BROOKNEAL WAS 1710 CFS, STAGE 5.29' AND AT ALTAVISTA 1210 CFS, STAGE 2.5'.