DeGray Lake Water Levels and Pool Management

How USACE Manages DeGray Lake

USACE Little Rock District operates DeGray Dam on the Caddo River for multiple authorized purposes: flood damage reduction downstream on the Caddo River and Ouachita River system, municipal and industrial water supply for the Arkadelphia area, hydroelectric power generation, and recreation. DeGray Lake Resort State Park's recreation infrastructure depends on the lake being at or near conservation pool during the summer season -- the lodge on the lake island, marina operations, swim beaches, and boating access all require adequate water depth.

The Caddo River watershed in Clark and Caddo counties receives significant rainfall -- the southern end of the Ouachita Mountain range produces substantial inflows to the reservoir during spring and early summer rainy seasons. This rainfall sustains the lake's volume through typical drought cycles more reliably than many lakes in drier parts of Arkansas. DeGray Lake has historically maintained adequate summer recreation pool levels except in the most severe multi-year drought events affecting central Arkansas broadly.

Winter Drawdown and Spring Refill

USACE draws DeGray Lake down from summer conservation pool in fall and winter to create flood storage capacity for anticipated spring inflow from the Caddo River watershed. The drawdown reduces the lake level by a meaningful margin -- lowering water depth at dock structures, reducing some cove navigability, and changing the visual character of shoreline areas as more bank is exposed. The drawdown is predictable and seasonal, not driven by short-term weather events. Spring inflow from Caddo River watershed rainfall typically refills the lake to conservation pool by late spring or early summer in normal rainfall years.

Real-time lake level data for DeGray Lake is publicly available through the USACE Water Control Data System. Buyers who want to visit the lake and evaluate it at different pool levels -- particularly at winter drawdown to understand what the shoreline looks like when lake level is lowest -- can time visits accordingly or ask current waterfront owners to share photos of their dock and shoreline at different pool levels.

What Pool Variation Means for Dock Owners

A dock on DeGray Lake needs to be designed to remain functional across the seasonal pool variation range. Fixed docks that are set at summer conservation pool elevation become difficult to use or inaccessible during winter drawdown. Floating dock systems that rise and fall with pool level maintain functional access across the full pool range. When evaluating an existing dock on a prospective DeGray Lake property, ask whether the dock is fixed or floating and how it has performed functionally during previous winter drawdown periods. A dock that becomes stranded on mud or extremely shallow water each winter is a maintenance liability that affects usability and value.