As water levels continue to rise in Rough River Lake, Falls of Rough, Kentucky, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District has developed the Rough River Lake Viewer—an inundation map for residents and emergency planners to enhance community preparedness. USACE is working with local and state emergency operation managers to keep people who may be affected by this situation safe and informed. This new publicly accessible interactive map allows property owners to evaluate where their properties are in relation to water levels ranging from 510 to 536 feet.
"With the incoming rainfall impacting Rough River Lake, it is crucial for all affected communities to be prepared for elevated water levels," said Adam Connelly, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville District, Water Resources Section Chief. "These inundation maps offer valuable insight into what impacts may be realized at different elevations, but actual conditions will depend on specific event factors.”
Rough River Lake reached spillway crest at 11:00 p.m. on April 4, 2025, and continues to rise. Current forecasts show that the pool could reach anywhere between 530 and 532 MSL.
The newly launched viewer provides projections for potential inundation upstream of the dam based on various levels. The elevation data shown is approximate with margin of error equal to +/- 2 feet. The data is the newest and highest-quality terrain data available for the region but is intended for planning purposes only. As conditions during a flood event may vary, the accuracy of the projections cannot be guaranteed. Downstream inundation estimates can be viewed at: https://www.weather.gov/ohrfc/ by scrolling down and selecting “Enabled” under the “Flood Inundation Category”.
The Rough River Lake Viewer is available for public access at Rough River Lake Inundation Viewer.
USACE reminds the public to stay vigilant and prepared, as weather conditions can change rapidly. Resources for flood preparedness can be found at www.ready.gov/floods.
To view current lake levels, visit: http://www.lrl-wc.usace.army.mil/reports/lkreport.html.
USACE is committed to keeping the public informed as conditions change. For updates, visit: https://www.facebook.com/LouisvilleUSACE.
For more information visit, https://www.lrd.usace.army.mil/About/Districts/Louisville-District/Severe-Weather-Event-April-2025/
A spillway event is not a failure of the dam. A spillway event just means that the dam has reached its storage capacity and we are unable to hold back the lake above a specified elevation. The spillway is designed to provide a safe path for the excess flows once the dam reaches maximum capacity. Rough River Dam is operating as designed, and there are no immediate dam safety concerns. USACE regularly inspects and monitors instruments to check the health of the dam. The frequency of these checks increases when the lake level rises. This ensures that the structure is performing as designed and allows for detection of areas of concern. Throughout this event we will be performing 24/7 onsite monitoring in addition to twice daily instrumentation checks.