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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 04-OCT-2024 00:50 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 1996.53 1944.31 5693
Byllesby 2079.20 2073.07 2024.04 5634
Claytor 1846.00 1845.52 1731.99 5040

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 614.00 614.03 594.98 5316
Marmet 590.00 589.96 573.17 9962
Winfield 566.00 566.17 543.69 11283

See plant-specific notices below.

Roanoke River

Project Normal Full Pond Forebay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Leesville 613.00.00 609.57 532.98 2279
Niagara 885.00 885.09
Smith Mountain 795.00 793.14 608.16

See plant-specific notices below.

Saint Joseph River

Project Normal Full Pond Forebay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Berrien Springs 623.50 623.52 598.26 2133
Buchanan summer: 637.50
winter: 637.20
637.47 624.30 1406
Constantine 782.90 782.81 771.33
Elkhart 741.50
winter: 739.50
741.60 721.64
Mottville summer: 770.40
winter: 770.00
770.43 758.52 1018
Twin Branch 717.10 716.91 696.13 1653

See plant-specific notices below.

Plant-Specific Notices

As of 05:00 this morning, Thursday October 3, 2024, inflow to the Smith Mountain Project was 2387 CFS and the discharge from Leesville was 2785 CFS. The adjusted reservoir elevations was 794.4 ft. The flow rate at the USGS Gauge at Brookneal was 5410 CFS, Stage 9.10 ft. and at Altavista 2840 CFS, Stage 4.20 ft.

Canoe portages at Byllesby and Buck hydroelectric facilities are closed until further notice due to flood damage.