Richard B. Russell Lake water level: Russell 
1.0 ft low
Richard B. Russell Lake is 1.0 ft below full pool, about normal for early November. The Richard B. Russell Dam gauge read 474.05 ft at 8:00 AM EST, November 3, 2026.
How Russell stands today
- 474.05 Feet above sea level8:00 AM EST, November 3, 2026, NGVD29 datum.
- −0.95 Feet from full poolFull pool today is 475.00 ft.
- −0.30 Feet from normal for Nov 3Median of 2016–2025 is 474.35 ft. Today ranks in the 30th percentile.
- −0.16 Feet from a year ago474.21 ft on November 3, 2025.
- +1.25 Feet over 30 days+0.08 ft over the past 7 days.
The past year, day by day
The shaded band is where Russell usually sits on each date: the middle 80% of years from 2016 to 2025. The blue line is the past 12 months; the sand line is the 12 months before. Hover or use the arrow keys to read any day.
- Past 12 months
- The 12 months before
- Normal range (middle 80% of years)
- Median
- Full pool
Monthly average since 2016
Readings for the last 30 days
| Date | Level (ft) | Normal (ft) |
|---|---|---|
| November 3, 2026 | 474.06 | 474.35 |
| November 2, 2026 | 474.04 | 474.35 |
| November 1, 2026 | 474.02 | 474.36 |
| October 31, 2026 | 474.03 | 474.38 |
| October 30, 2026 | 474.13 | 474.41 |
| October 29, 2026 | 474.18 | 474.36 |
| October 28, 2026 | 474.09 | 474.39 |
| October 27, 2026 | 473.97 | 474.34 |
| October 26, 2026 | 473.86 | 474.24 |
| October 25, 2026 | 473.78 | 474.11 |
| October 24, 2026 | 473.80 | 474.03 |
| October 23, 2026 | 473.89 | 474.14 |
| October 22, 2026 | 473.79 | 474.02 |
| October 21, 2026 | 473.61 | 474.03 |
| October 20, 2026 | 473.49 | 474.05 |
| Date | Level (ft) | Normal (ft) |
|---|---|---|
| October 19, 2026 | 473.41 | 474.03 |
| October 18, 2026 | 473.30 | 474.00 |
| October 17, 2026 | 473.34 | 473.96 |
| October 16, 2026 | 473.39 | 474.02 |
| October 15, 2026 | 473.46 | 474.07 |
| October 14, 2026 | 473.37 | 474.11 |
| October 13, 2026 | 473.27 | 474.06 |
| October 12, 2026 | 473.17 | 474.08 |
| October 11, 2026 | 473.13 | 474.18 |
| October 10, 2026 | 473.00 | 474.33 |
| October 9, 2026 | 472.97 | 474.36 |
| October 8, 2026 | 472.99 | 474.46 |
| October 7, 2026 | 473.00 | 474.54 |
| October 6, 2026 | 472.99 | 474.61 |
| October 5, 2026 | 472.87 | 474.67 |
Is the water above your dock?
Enter the elevation of your dock, ramp end or a mark on your shoreline, in feet above sea level (NGVD29, the datum the Army Corps of Engineers uses for this gauge). You will see how far the water is above or below it today, and how often it dipped below it in each month since 2016.
| Month | Low year (10th %) | Median | High year (90th %) | Days above your mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 473.27 | 474.34 | 475.46 | — |
| February | 473.27 | 474.27 | 475.31 | — |
| March | 473.54 | 474.55 | 475.44 | — |
| April | 474.09 | 474.72 | 475.24 | — |
| May | 474.17 | 474.78 | 475.29 | — |
| June | 473.81 | 474.37 | 474.85 | — |
| July | 473.63 | 474.35 | 474.84 | — |
| August | 473.59 | 474.24 | 474.80 | — |
| September | 472.24 | 474.17 | 475.02 | — |
| October | 473.12 | 474.14 | 475.15 | — |
| November | 472.78 | 474.34 | 475.06 | — |
| December | 473.37 | 474.52 | 475.46 | — |
Other Georgia lakes, lowest first
| Lake | Level (ft) | Vs full pool |
|---|---|---|
 West Point Lake | 622.33 | 2.7 ft below |
 Lake Hartwell | 647.67 | 11.0 ft below |
 Lake Thurmond (Clarks Hill) | 318.30 | 10.5 ft below |
 Carters Lake | 1,068.93 | 92.7% full |
 Lake Eufaula (Walter F. George) | 186.01 | 2.9 ft below |
| Lake Lanier | 1,062.59 | 73.3% full |
 Allatoona Lake | 832.42 | 2.6 ft below |
 Lake Seminole | 76.86 | 1.1 ft below |
Russell questions
What is full pool at Richard B. Russell Lake?
Full pool at Richard B. Russell Lake is 475.00 ft above sea level today. The agency's own term for it is “top of conservation.”
Is Richard B. Russell Lake full right now?
No. It is 1.0 ft below full pool.
Is Richard B. Russell Lake lower than normal for early November?
No, it is close to normal. The median level on Nov 3 across 2016–2025 is 474.35 ft, and today's 474.05 ft is −0.30 ft from it. In 8 of 10 years the level on this date fell between 473.20 and 474.97 ft.
How does Richard B. Russell Lake compare with last year?
A year ago, on November 3, 2025, it stood at 474.21 ft. It is 0.16 ft lower now.
What are the highest and lowest levels since 2016?
In the daily record we hold, which starts in 2016, the highest daily level was 479.41 ft on February 27, 2020 and the lowest was 471.01 ft on January 8, 2018.
How often is this page updated?
We pull new readings from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers several times a day. This page was last rebuilt on Wed, 04 Nov 2026 15:13:17 UTC. Readings are provisional and can be revised by the agency.