Understanding the water flows on the White River isn't really as complicated as some make it out to be. Fortunately, Rim Shoals has the advantage of being 24 miles downstream from the Dam which means there's a predictable window before the water begins to rise or fall. Bull Shoals Dam has 8 generators, each produce on average 3000 cubic feet per second(cfs) at max capacity.  Every 3000cfs approximately equals one foot of water, so at max capacity, Bull Shoals Dam can produce 26,400cfs or 8-10 feet of water above dead low conditions.  

Understanding the time it takes for rising water to reach Rim Shoals is really the most important thing. For example if all 8 units were turned on at once at max capacity, it would take 4 hours for the water to arrive at Rim Shoals.  So basically there is a 4 to 12 hour window for water to reach us depending on how much water (cfs) is released from the Dam.  Some things to pay attention to, to let you know the water (cfs) is rising will be visual marks disappearing (i.e. rocks, logs, gravel bars), leaf matter becoming more apparent, small sticks, moss and other debris suddenly becoming abundant in the water, and sudden increases in fish strikes.  

BULL SHOALS

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NORFORK

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SOUTH WEST POWER

Click here for daily water projections

or call 870-431-5311 for current water releases

Disclaimer:  

The information on this page is only to help you understand water flows and generation on the White River and is in no way intended to exactly interpret water conditions.  Rim Shoals holds no liability for misunderstanding water generation and.....