Typical lake surface this week
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Loading the latest readings…
Lake Murray water level right now
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- Past 24 hours
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- Past 7 days
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- vs. typical for today
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Past 7 days
Latest lake temperature sample
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Saluda River flowing in
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Released below the dam
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Water level
Feet above the dam's datum. Full pool is 360 ft; summer target is 358 ft.
Water temperature
Daily mean at the dam (surface and bottom), plus state sampling across the lake.
For the record
Common questions
What is the water level of Lake Murray right now?
The big number at the top of this page is the latest reading from the USGS gauge at the dam, updated every 15 minutes. Full pool is 360 feet, so a reading of 356 feet means the lake is 4 feet below full.
What is "full pool" on Lake Murray?
Full pool is 360 feet, the maximum normal level in Dominion Energy's federal operating license. Dominion aims for about 358 feet through the summer boating season. The lake rarely goes above 358; the record high is 361.4 feet, set in April 1936.
Why does the lake drop in fall and winter?
Dominion lowers Lake Murray every fall and refills it by late spring. In a typical January the lake sits near 355 feet. Every few years the drawdown goes deeper, to about 350 feet, so that cold, dry weather kills the aquatic weeds that clog shallow coves. The fall 2026 drawdown to 350 feet, held through January 2027, is one of those.
How warm is the water?
Based on 31 years of USGS readings at the dam, the surface is typically in the low to mid 80s °F in July and August, around 73 °F in mid-May and mid-October, and in the upper 40s to low 50s in January and February. Deep water near the dam stays in the 50s and low 60s all year. No government sensor measures the lake's temperature live today, so this page shows what is typical for the date, recent state samples, and live river temperatures above and below the dam.
Where does the data come from?
Everything is public U.S. government data: the USGS gauge "Lake Murray near Columbia" (02168500) for level and historical temperature, USGS gauges on the Saluda River above and below the dam for river temperature, and lake samples from the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services via the EPA and USGS Water Quality Portal. Recent USGS values are provisional until reviewed.
Does this match the level Dominion Energy reports?
Both are referenced to the same full-pool elevation of 360 feet, so they agree closely. Small differences come from reading times and from wind pushing water toward or away from the dam. This page refreshes itself every 15 minutes while it is open.
About the data
- Lake level comes from USGS gauge 02168500, Lake Murray near Columbia, which reports every 15 minutes. Daily values go back to the day the lake began filling in August 1929. Recent readings are provisional and may be revised by USGS.
- Lake temperature was measured at the same gauge, at the surface and the bottom, from 1992 until the station was moved on Feb 27, 2024. There is currently no live government temperature sensor on the lake itself, so this site shows the historical record, what is typical for the date, and periodic samples that the Water Quality Portal publishes from the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services.
- River temperatures are live from USGS gauges on the Saluda River above the lake (02167600) and just below the dam (02168504).
- Operations. Dominion Energy manages the lake under a federal license. Full pool is 360 ft and the normal summer target is about 358 ft. In fall 2026 Dominion is lowering the lake to about 350 ft, holding it there through January 2027 to control aquatic vegetation, then refilling by late spring.