Water elevation · USGS gauge 03035500 · updated August 29, 2026
Water elevation
1098.77ft
feet above sea level
Gauge 03035500, Mahoning Creek Reservoir at Mahoning Creek Dam, 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 Mahoning Creek Reservoir at Mahoning Creek Dam, 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
- 1098.77 ft · August 29, 2026
- Water quality
- Readings on the lake page
The Corps of Engineers reads Mahoning Creek Lake at 1,111.42 ft, 14.28 ft above its Top of Conservation of 1,097.14 ft.
Both numbers come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its Mahoning Creek Lake 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 Mahoning Creek Lake
Mahoning Creek 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 Mahoning Creek Lake right now?
The most recent reading from the USGS gauge at Mahoning Creek Reservoir at Mahoning Creek Dam, PA is a water elevation of 1098.77 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 Mahoning Creek Reservoir at Mahoning Creek Dam, 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 Mahoning Creek Lake low?
Mahoning Creek Lake stood at 1,111.42 ft on September 27, 2026, 14.28 ft above its Top of Conservation of 1,097.14 ft. Both numbers come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for its Mahoning Creek Lake 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 Mahoning Creek Lake?
Mahoning Creek 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 03035500, 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.