Rough River Lake Water Level Today
9.1 ft below full pool, 65.6% full (of total storage), and 0.3 ft higher than a year ago.
Read Oct 26, 6:00 AM CDT
Trend and source week, month, year
Source: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Check it at water.usace.army.mil/overview/lrl/locations/rough
Rough River Lake boat ramps
The Corps reports 2 open, 0 partly open and 0 closed of 2 recreation areas, as of its page dated 10/23/26. Status is for the whole area, not a measure of water at the ramp.
- Axtel Open
- Laurel Branch Open
Status: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Recreation Operational Status, refreshed daily; locations where shown from the Corps or the state agency named in the sources list. Level: read Oct 26, 6:00 AM CDT.
Rough River Lake, Kentucky. Run by USACE Louisville District.
Rough River Lake level
Daily level, past 12 months, feet above sea level (NGVD29). Shaded: the normal range, the middle half of readings for each date, 1991 to 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Monthly average since Oct 2, 1959; gaps where the record is missing. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
About Rough River Lake today
How full is Rough River Lake?65.6% full, 9.1 ft below full pool
65.6% full by storage on Oct 26. Total storage / storage at the top of conservation (summer pool). The Corps publishes no inactive-pool storage for this lake, so this counts all water in the lake, not just the conservation pool.
Full pool is 495.00 ft, the operator's target for this time of year.
How low is Rough River Lake?23.9 ft above its lowest since 1962
9.1 ft below full pool. The lowest daily level in our record since 1962 is 462.03 ft, on Dec 12, 1965. Our record starts Oct 2, 1959; the first 3 years are left out of the record low because the lake was still filling for the first time.
Is Rough River Lake still dropping?Yes: down 3.11 ft this week
| Change | Feet | Level then |
|---|---|---|
| Past day (since Oct 25) | 0.54 down | 486.47 |
| Past 7 days (since Oct 19) | 3.11 down | 489.04 |
| Past 30 days (since Sep 26) | 4.09 down | 490.02 |
| Past year (since Oct 26, 2025) | 0.33 up | 485.60 |
Is Rough River Lake lower than normal?Yes: 5.5 ft below normal for this date
Normal for Oct 26 is 491.46 ft: the median of 245 daily readings within 3 days of this date, 1991 to 2025. Rough River Lake is 5.5 ft below it.
We haven't found an operator's statement of the reason for this lake yet, so this answer only compares the level with a normal year.
What is the water temperature at Rough River Lake?No official reading for this lake
No USGS in-lake water-temperature gauge found within the lake area (checked 2026-10-24). Stream gauges above or below the dam were not used: tailwater and inflow temperatures differ from the lake surface.
When was Rough River Lake last full?Aug 15, 2026
The last day in our record at or above 495.00 ft, today's full pool.
Rough River Lake full pool level495.00 ft
Full pool changes with the season; this is the operator's target for today. Elevations are feet above sea level (NGVD29).
Where it comes from: USACE CWMS location level "Rough.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Conservation" (refreshed daily; seasonal where the Corps sets a seasonal pool). Checked 2026-10-24. 495 ft summer pool.
Rough River Lake this time last year485.6 ft on Oct 26, 2025
0.3 ft higher than a year ago.
Levels: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, read Oct 26, 6:00 AM CDT. Normal and records come from Creek & Lake's stored daily history (24,495 days since 1959); they aren't official unless the operator publishes the same value.