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What does “full pool” mean?

Full pool, conservation pool, summer pool, flood pool and guide curves explained with live numbers from Lanier, Travis, Texoma, Norris, Cumberland, Mead and more.

By LakeCharts USA · Updated October 26, 2026 · Live tables rebuild with each data refresh

Short answer: “full pool” is the lake level the operator treats as normal and full for everyday use. For Army Corps lakes that is the top of the conservation pool. It is not the top of the dam, and the lake can rise well above it during floods. Lake Lanier is at 1,063.0 ft, 8.0 ft below its 1,071 ft full pool; Lake Mead is 191 ft below its 1,229 ft full pool.

The pools, from the bottom up

  • Conservation pool: the water kept for the lake’s everyday purposes: water supply, hydropower, recreation, minimum river flows. Its top elevation is what most people call “full pool” or “normal pool.”
  • Flood pool (flood-control storage): the space above the conservation pool, kept empty to catch floodwater and released slowly afterward. A lake above full pool is storing floodwater, as designed.
  • Surcharge and top of dam: still higher elevations used only in extreme floods.

The Army Corps’ Fort Worth District puts it plainly: reaching the top of the conservation pool “does not mean the lake is ‘full’” because flood storage sits above it. At Canyon Lake, for example, the top of the conservation pool is 909 ft, the top of the flood pool 943 ft and the top of the dam 974 ft (USACE Fort Worth District). The Sacramento District’s glossary says the Corps computes a “Top of Conservation Pool” for every reservoir with flood space, and space above it is reserved for floodwater (USACE Sacramento District).

Summer pool, winter pool and guide curves

Many lakes don’t have one full-pool number all year. They follow a seasonal guide curve (or rule curve): higher in summer for boating, lower in winter to make room for floods. TVA lakes are the clearest example. TVA calls the top of its curve summer pool and lowers its storage lakes after Labor Day; see the TVA winter drawdown guide. Several Corps lakes in the table below also have a seasonal target that differs from the full-pool number.

“Percent full” is a different measure

Percent full compares the volume stored in the conservation pool with the conservation pool’s capacity, so it is not the same as feet below full pool. Right now Lake Lanier is 8.0 ft below full pool and 85.9% full by volume (USACE). The Texas Water Development Board reports percent full for every major Texas reservoir; see Texas lake levels today.

Today: 16 big lakes against their full pool

Live data as of Oct 26, 2026. Elevations in feet above sea level (or the operator’s datum). Full pool and seasonal targets come from the source linked on each row.

LakeTodayFull poolWhat the operator calls itvs full poolSeasonal target today% fullSource
Lake Lanier1,063.01,071.0Full pool−8.0 ft1,070.685.9%USACE
Allatoona Lake834.0840.0Summer pool−6.0 ft835.0—USACE
Lake Hartwell648.2659.2Full pool (Top of Conservation)−11.1 ft—78.2%USACE
Norris Lake1,003.91,020.0Summer pool (Summer operating level in the TVA operating guide)−16.1 ft1,003.3—Tennessee Valley Authority operating guide
Kentucky Lake354.6359.0Summer pool (Summer operating level in the TVA operating guide)−4.4 ft354.6—Tennessee Valley Authority operating guide
Lake Cumberland692.9723.0Top of power pool (Top of Power)−30.1 ft—65.5%USACE
Lake Travis677.2681.0Full pool (Top of Conservation)−3.8 ft—93.6%USACE
Lake Texoma616.9618.1Full pool (Top of Conservation)−1.3 ft—99.4%USACE
Sam Rayburn Reservoir153.0164.4Top of conservation pool−11.4 ft—61.3%USACE
Bull Shoals Lake652.9659.0Full pool (Top of Conservation)−6.1 ft—91.3%USACE
Beaver Lake1,111.91,120.4Full pool (Top of Conservation)−8.5 ft—86.5%USACE
Lake of the Ozarks657.7660.0Full pool (Top of conservation pool)−2.3 ft——Ameren Missouri / USACE (top of conservation 660 ft)
Lake Murray355.0360.0Full pool−5.0 ft——Dominion Energy South Carolina
Lake Mead1,038.01,229.0Full pool−191.0 ft——USBR
Lake Powell3,527.93,700.0Full pool−172.1 ft——USBR
Shasta Lake974.21,067.0Full pool−92.8 ft——USBR

FAQ

Does full pool mean the lake can’t hold more water?

No. Full pool is the top of the conservation pool. Many lakes have a flood pool above it, and the lake rises into that space during floods. Water above full pool is floodwater being stored on purpose.

Why is my lake below full pool in the fall?

Many lakes follow a seasonal guide curve and are lowered in fall and winter to make room for floods. TVA storage lakes, for example, start falling faster after Labor Day. Dry weather lowers lakes too, because operators must keep releasing water downstream.

What is the difference between full pool and percent full?

Full pool is an elevation in feet. Percent full is the stored volume in the conservation pool divided by that pool’s capacity, so the two don’t line up foot for foot.

Where can I find my lake’s full pool?

Every lake page on LakeCharts USA shows the operator’s full or summer pool (where it is published) with a link to the source, and charts today’s level against it.

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