Why is the Lake Level Low (or High)?
The normal elevation of B. A. Steinhagen Lake is fairly constant at 82.5’ above mean sea level, but it does occasionally fluctuate (sometimes on a daily basis) between elevations 81.0’ and 83.0’. Town Bluff is not a flood control lake. It provides water storage and hydroelectric power generation, as well as acting as a flow stabilizer, absorbing the periodic releases from Sam Rayburn Dam, allowing a more steady flow down the Neches River. These releases from Sam Rayburn may cause an elevation change of 3 to 12 inches, depending on where you are on the lake (greater fluctuations occur along the Angelina River in the upper reaches of the project.) Sometimes, depending on rainfall forecasts and river stages downstream, the lake level may be slightly lowered in order to accommodate a heavy inflow, or be allowed to temporarily rise slightly to allow flood waters downstream to recede. Occasionally, the lake has been drawn down as far as the original river bed in an effort to combat nuisance
