Catawba River level at Lake Wylie
South Carolina · Fishing & wading
Measured at USGS 02145910 — CATAWBA RIVER BL LAKE WYLIE DAM FEWELL ISLAND, SC
Reading taken · as of 18 min ago
Low and clear — wadeable, and fish will be spooky
At 906 CFS, this gauge is running 44% of normal for mid-September — below the 2,060 CFS median USGS has recorded for this date across 8 years of record (2018–2026).
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Flow history at Lake Wylie
Daily values from USGS 02145910, updated every 15 to 60 minutes. Provisional.
About Catawba River at Lake Wylie
In South Carolina, below Lake Wylie. Releases can change the flow by hundreds of CFS in an hour with no rain in the basin — check it the morning you go, not the night before.
Reservoir feeding this stretch
Flow here is set by releases from Lake Wylie. A full pool usually means more water on its way down.
Catawba River at Lake Wylie — common questions
3 questions
How do releases from Lake Wylie affect this stretch?
Directly and fast. When the dam generates, flow here can climb by an order of magnitude within the hour, with no rain anywhere in the basin. That sudden release is the real hazard on a tailwater. The pool level is on lakelvl.com, linked below.
Is Catawba River at Lake Wylie high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median flow for mid-September here is 2,060 CFS, from 8 years of record (2018–2026). Today is 44% of it. The comparison is what makes the raw number mean anything: the same reading is a drought on one river and a flood on another.
How often does this reading update?
USGS transmits from gauge 02145910 every 15 to 60 minutes. This page refreshes from USGS when you open it, and the reading is provisional until USGS reviews it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.