Lake Facts

In October 1979, the Corps began impounding Smithville Lake. However, because of upstream construction activities, the water level was not allowed to fill to the multipurpose pool elevation. At normal operational level, the lake covers 7,190 surface acres and 18 miles of the Little Platte Valley from the damsite to the city of Plattsburg.

One interesting feature of the lake is its long shoreline. Although it ranks tenth in surface acres among the 18 lakes in the Kansas City District, Smithville ranks third in shoreline miles. This distinction becomes a significant statistic since fish and wildlife are dependent upon the shoreline for their habitat. The Lake Shoreline is 175 miles and the total project acreage is 19,709 acres

Project Data

Elevations, feet above mean sea level
  Top of multipurpose pool: 864.2
  Top of flood control pool: 876.2
Surface area of lake, acres
  At top of multipurpose pool: 7,190
  At top of flood control pool: 10,000
Storage Capacity, acre feet
  Multipurpose pool: 102,200
  Flood control pool: 92,000
Shoreline length: 175 miles
Drainage Area: 213 sq miles