Thurlow Dam water level — Alabama

Alabama · USACE · reading Aug 31, 2026, 7:00 AM (UTC+00:00)

Thurlow Dam in Alabama was last measured at 17,919 acre-ft of storage (no elevation gauge reported), as of Aug 31, 2026, 7:00 AM (UTC+00:00) (USACE CWMS Data).

Current reading Thurlow Dam · Alabama
Pool elevation
Not reported

This station reports storage but no elevation gauge — its managing agency does not publish a pool-elevation reading here.

% of conservation pool full
Not reported
Storage
17,919 acre-ft
Recent trend
Not enough data

Recent trend

Not enough recent readings to show a trend.

Data: USGS Water Services (waterservices.usgs.gov) and USACE CWMS Data (cwms-data.usace.army.mil), retrieved 2026-08-31. Both public domain (a work of the U.S. Government, 17 U.S.C. §105).

Not for navigation or safety decisions (why →)

Source: USACE SAM/Thurlow, retrieved Aug 31, 2026, 8:24 AM (UTC+00:00). Official page for this lake →

About this gauge's record

USACE's continuous elevation record for this project begins in 2004 (2 tracked series for this project).

The dam behind Thurlow Dam

Thurlow Dam is held back by Thurlow , a concrete gravity structure, resisting the reservoir by its own weight alone , standing 62 ft high and running 1,926 ft along its crest , built across Tallapoosa River in Elmore County , near Tallassee . It was completed in 1930 , and is owned by Alabama Power Company (a public utility owner) .

Its recorded primary purpose is hydroelectric — releases follow generation schedules, so the level can move on a daily cycle that has nothing to do with drought . It also serves hydroelectric;recreation.

It is founded on rock, with a concrete core. Its spillway is ungated: once the pool reaches the crest, water leaves on its own and the operator cannot hold it back.

NID classes it high hazard potential. That describes what a failure would cost downstream — loss of life would be expected — and says nothing about how likely a failure is, or what condition the dam is in. Its most recent condition assessment was satisfactory — no deficiencies recognised for expected loading. That assessment is dated 04/11/2023.

At its normal pool the reservoir covers about 574 acres. NID records a maximum storage of 18,250 acre-ft against a normal storage of 18,250 acre-ft. Its maximum discharge capacity is 430,000 cubic feet per second.

Dam facts: National Inventory of Dams record AL01422 , filed by Federal Energy Regulatory Commission — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, public domain. Water levels above come from USACE CWMS Data and are a separate source. (How this dam was matched to this gauge →)

Nearby lakes

The six nearest published lakes by centroid distance (great-circle) — cross-state neighbors included.

Lakes nearest to Thurlow Dam, with current level and distance.
Lake State Level Distance
Lake Martin AL 343.10 ft 16 km
Jordan AL 251.24 ft 36 km
Mitchell AL 311.65 ft 60 km
Lay AL 395.56 ft 76 km
West Point Dam and Lake GA 632.38 ft 78 km
River.l. Harris Dam AL 793.00 ft 84 km

Frequently asked questions

What is the current water level of Thurlow Dam?
This lake reports storage (17,919 acre-ft as of Aug 31, 2026, 7:00 AM (UTC+00:00)) but no elevation gauge — its managing agency does not publish a pool-elevation reading here.
Is Thurlow Dam full right now?
Its managing agency does not publish a %-of-conservation-pool-full figure for this lake, so we show the bare level rather than estimate one.
Where does this data come from?
From USACE SAM/Thurlow, retrieved Aug 31, 2026, 8:24 AM (UTC+00:00).

More in Alabama

See every lake tracked in Alabama, or read the methodology behind these figures.