What 357.06 ft means

What each level means

Approximate by design — anchored to published thresholds (ramp minimums, full pool, spillway, records) but every cove is different.

1. Above full pondabove 360 ft

   Above 360 ft Dominion is passing flood flows through the Saluda spillway; the 1936 flood peaked at 361.4 ft.

2. At the top of the pool358–360 ft

   Above the normal summer target — expect higher releases into the lower Saluda.

3. Normal operating range354–358 ftnow · 357.06 ft

   Docks, marinas, and ramps in good shape. Summer target is 358 ft; winter drawdown bottoms near 354.

4. Below winter pool350–354 ft

   Shallow coves and upper-lake ramps start feeling it; sandbars and shoals emerge upstream of Dreher Island.

5. Deep drawdown345–350 ft

   Widespread dock strandings and ramp closures — territory last seen in the 2019 drawdown (349.9 ft) and 2008 drought.

6. Extreme drawdownbelow 345 ft

   Approaching the modern low of 344.73 ft (Oct 1996 deep drawdown); only the deliberate 1941 wartime drawdown (321 ft) went lower.