LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. — With heavy rain forecast all weekend, the Lake of the Ozarks water level is on the rise.

Ameren drops the Lake level every winter by about six feet, in anticipation of spring rains. The temporary drop, which begins around December or January and ends by Memorial Day weekend, also allows lakefront property owners to shore up their seawall and install rip rap.

The Lake hit its low in early March, at just over 654 feet. Full pool is 660.

The Lake level is currently at 657.12, and Ameren has significantly increased Bagnell Dam’s hourly output in response to recent rainfall. Since Wednesday afternoon, April 26, the dam discharge has not dropped below 25,000 cubic feet per second (cfs). However, that’s still only a fraction of the dam’s potential output.

Using turbines alone, the dam can pass 40,000 cfs. The dam’s floodgates can allow an additional 185,000, for a maximum output of 225,000 cfs. That’s equivalent to 1,683,117 gallons per second. During the infamous 1943 flood, the dam flow peaked at 220,000 cfs. In the December 2015 flood, the maximum flow hit 104,617.10 cfs.

6
4
4
4
8

(0 Ratings)