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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 01-JUN-2023 07:35 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 2002.87 1961.56 2727
Byllesby 2079.20 2078.79 2023.55 2362
Claytor 1846.00 1845.73 1731.71 3483

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 614.00 614.24 592.83 10611
Marmet 590.00 590.09 569.60 0
Winfield 566.00 566.27 541.18 10923

See plant-specific notices below.

Roanoke River

Project Normal Full Pond Forbay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Leesville 613.00.00 604.80 535.69 3328
Niagara 885.00 885.84
Smith Mountain 795.00 794.51 603.86

See plant-specific notices below.

Saint Joseph River

Project Normal Full Pond Forbay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Berrien Springs 623.50 623.35 598.53 3046
Buchanan summer: 637.50
winter: 637.00
637.49 624.29 1776
Constantine 782.90 782.92 771.31
Elkhart 741.50
winter: 739.50
741.62 721.82
Mottville summer: 770.40
winter: 770.00
770.40 758.60 1870
Twin Branch 717.10 717.06 696.10 2185

See plant-specific notices below.

Plant-Specific Notices

AS OF 05:00 THIS MORNING THURSDAY JUNE 01, 2023, INFLOW TO THE SMITH MOUNTAIN PROJECT WAS 2286 CFS AND THE DISCHARGE FROM LEESVILLE 3340 CFS. THE ADJUSTED RESERVOIR ELEVATION WAS 795.16'. THE FLOW RATE AT THE USGS GAUGE AT BROOKNEAL WAS 4060 CFS, STAGE 7.75' AND AT ALTAVISTA 3540 CFS, STAGE 4.7'.