Water elevation · USGS gauge 01470870 · updated August 29, 2026
Water elevation
290.16ft
feet above sea level
Gauge 01470870, Blue Marsh Lake near Bernville, PA, operated by the U.S. Geological Survey. The value above is the most recent reading on file with its own timestamp. When the gauge answers, it is replaced by the current one — no estimate is ever shown in place of a missing reading.
What this number is
Water elevation is the height of the lake surface above sea level, as surveyed at Blue Marsh Lake near Bernville, PA. It is the number reservoir operators publish, and it is comparable from one reading to the next at this lake. It is not the depth of the water.
- Measured as
- Water elevation, ft above sea level
- Most recent reading on file
- 290.16 ft · August 29, 2026
- Water quality
- Readings on the lake page
The Corps of Engineers reads Blue Marsh Dam at 290.15 ft, 0.88 ft above its Top of Conservation of 289.27 ft.
Both numbers come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its Blue Marsh Dam project, on that project's own vertical datum (NAVD-88). That target moves through the year on a seasonal rule curve, so it is the figure in effect now, not a fixed number. Because the datum is the project's own, this elevation is comparable to its own reference and to nothing else — not to a gauge reading from another agency, and not to a lake's mapped surface elevation.
Water quality at Blue Marsh Lake
Blue Marsh Lake has limited nutrient and algae sampling on record. A lake without recent nutrient or algae sampling shows whatever measurements exist rather than an estimate.
The gauge measures how much water is in the lake. The nutrient and algae readings measure what is in the water. A rise or a drawdown does not change those readings until the lake is sampled again.
Common questions
What is the water level at Blue Marsh Lake right now?
The most recent reading from the USGS gauge at Blue Marsh Lake near Bernville, PA is a water elevation of 290.16 ft, taken on August 29, 2026. This page reloads that gauge every time it is opened, so the number above is the current one whenever the station is reporting. USGS lake gauges typically post a new value every 15 to 60 minutes.
What does water elevation mean?
Water elevation is the height of the lake surface above sea level, as surveyed at Blue Marsh Lake near Bernville, PA. It is the number reservoir operators publish, and it is comparable from one reading to the next at this lake. It is not the depth of the water.
Is Blue Marsh Lake low?
Blue Marsh Lake stood at 290.15 ft on September 27, 2026, 0.88 ft above its Top of Conservation of 289.27 ft. Both numbers come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its Blue Marsh Dam project, on that project's own vertical datum (NAVD-88). That target moves through the year on a seasonal rule curve, so it is the figure in effect now, not a fixed number. Because the datum is the project's own, this elevation is comparable to its own reference and to nothing else — not to a gauge reading from another agency, and not to a lake's mapped surface elevation.
Does the water level affect water quality at Blue Marsh Lake?
Blue Marsh Lake has limited nutrient and algae sampling on record. Each lake's nutrient and algae readings — total phosphorus, total nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and turbidity — are shown beside the EPA National Lakes Assessment 2022 condition class for that lake's own ecoregion, so a reading is compared against the lakes it would naturally resemble. LakeQuality publishes no letter grade. None of that comes from the gauge. A drawdown can concentrate nutrients and a heavy inflow can dilute them, but neither shows up in the readings until the water is sampled again. Treat the two numbers as separate measurements of the same lake.
Where these numbers come from
The level and temperature are U.S. Geological Survey instantaneous values from gauge 01470870, a public feed with no licence restriction. The water-quality readings come from EPA Water Quality Portal samples. For advisories and standards in Pennsylvania, PA DEP is the authority — a gauge reading is neither.