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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 19-MAY-2024 17:35 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 Forebay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Buck 2003.40 2002.93 1961.85 7278
Byllesby 2079.20 2078.83 2023.96 6028
Claytor 1846.00 1845.19 1734.01 12737

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 614.00 613.88 592.35 9395
Marmet 590.00 589.94 570.34 7384
Winfield 566.00 566.18 542.53 7688

See plant-specific notices below.

Roanoke River

Project Normal Full Pond Forebay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Leesville 613.00.00 604.92 532.35 665
Niagara 885.00 885.45
Smith Mountain 795.00 794.29 607.60

See plant-specific notices below.

Saint Joseph River

Project Normal Full Pond Forebay Actual (Feet) Tail Water (Feet) Tail Water (CFS)
Berrien Springs 623.50 623.60 599.05 5530
Buchanan summer: 637.50
winter: 637.20
637.50 625.50 3971
Constantine 782.90 782.93 771.80
Elkhart 741.50
winter: 739.50
741.45 722.43
Mottville summer: 770.40
winter: 770.00
770.38 759.71 2268
Twin Branch 717.10 716.90 696.75 4732

See plant-specific notices below.

Plant-Specific Notices

As of 05:00 this morning, Sunday May 19, 2024, inflow to the Smith Mountain Project was 2551 CFS and the discharge from Leesville was 998 CFS. The adjusted reservoir elevations was 794.9 ft. The flow rate at the USGS Gauge at Brookneal was 3230 CFS, Stage 7.06 ft. and at Altavista 1750 CFS, Stage 2.95 ft.