# watts.bar

> Live weather, water temperature, lake level, and dock-cam conditions for Watts Bar Lake — a 39,000-acre Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir on the Tennessee River. Plus encyclopedic content about the lake itself: regions, marinas, fishing, events, and safety. Measurements come from a private weather station and submerged probe at Tennessee River Mile 559.5 (latitude 35.62°N, longitude 84.71°W), refreshed every minute.

watts.bar is the live conditions site for Watts Bar Lake. The reservoir is impounded by Watts Bar Dam at Tennessee River Mile 529.9 and stretches roughly 72 miles upriver to Fort Loudoun Dam, spanning Roane, Meigs, Rhea, and Loudon counties in eastern Tennessee. Summer pool sits at 741 ft above sea level; winter draw-down is roughly 735 ft; the top of the spillway gates is 745 ft.

Sensors on site:
- Ecowitt GW3000B base station
- Ecowitt WS90 7-in-1 array (temperature, humidity, wind, rain, UV, solar, pressure)
- Ecowitt W40BH heated-tipping rain gauge
- Ecowitt WN34BL submerged water-temperature probe off the dock

Forecast is sourced from Google. Radar is sourced from RainViewer. Dam generation and reservoir elevation come from TVA's public APIs. Air quality comes from EPA AirNow's nearest monitor (typically Athens, TN). Weather watches and warnings come from the National Weather Service.

## Live data feeds

- [Live conditions feed (JSON)](https://live.watts.bar/weather.json): temperature, humidity, wind speed/direction/gust, pressure, UV, rain rate, rain today, water temperature, reservoir elevation, today/tomorrow forecast highs/lows/rain chance, current condition string, sunrise/sunset, last-updated timestamp.
- [TVA dam generation feed (JSON)](https://live.watts.bar/tva.json): active turbines and discharge for Watts Bar Dam (5 generators) and Fort Loudoun Dam (4 generators).
- [Live dock camera](https://live.watts.bar/cam): JPG image of the dock at Tennessee River Mile 559.5, refreshed every minute.

## Structured data feeds

- [Marinas database (JSON)](https://watts.bar/data/marinas.json): seven full-service marinas with address, geo, slips, fuel, restaurant, repair, transient, ramp, friction scores, and amenities.
- [Events feed (JSON)](https://watts.bar/data/events.json): fishing tournaments, festivals, concerts, marina nightlife, farmers markets across the lake region.
- [Fishing knowledge base (JSON)](https://watts.bar/data/fishing.json): seven species with seasonal models, monthly recommendations, current effects, and zone-by-zone patterns.
- [Lake regions (JSON)](https://watts.bar/data/regions.json): six canonical regions (Kingston, Rockwood, Mid-Lake, Spring City, Lower Lake/Dam, Upper Riverine) with anchors and traffic patterns.

## Pages

- [watts.bar — main dashboard](https://watts.bar/): live readings, forecast, radar, lake panel, sun/air/moon, FAQ.
- [About Watts Bar Lake](https://watts.bar/about-watts-bar-lake/): geography, history, six lake regions, ecology, operating facts.
- [Fishing Watts Bar Lake](https://watts.bar/fishing/): hub with monthly recommendations, current effects, and links to all seven species.
  - [Largemouth Bass](https://watts.bar/fishing/largemouth/)
  - [Smallmouth Bass](https://watts.bar/fishing/smallmouth/)
  - [Spotted Bass](https://watts.bar/fishing/spotted-bass/)
  - [Crappie](https://watts.bar/fishing/crappie/)
  - [Striped Bass](https://watts.bar/fishing/striped-bass/)
  - [Catfish](https://watts.bar/fishing/catfish/)
  - [Bluegill & Shellcracker](https://watts.bar/fishing/bluegill/)
- [Marinas on Watts Bar Lake](https://watts.bar/marinas/): comparison and detail pages for the seven main full-service marinas.
  - [Blue Springs Marina](https://watts.bar/marinas/blue-springs/) — largest, repairs, mid-lake hub
  - [Terrace View Marina](https://watts.bar/marinas/terrace-view/) — sunset destination
  - [Euchee Marina Resort](https://watts.bar/marinas/euchee/) — family resort with lodging
  - [Caney Creek Marina](https://watts.bar/marinas/caney-creek/) — off-channel working base
  - [Rockwood Marina & RV Resort](https://watts.bar/marinas/rockwood/) — newer amenity-first
  - [Spring City Resort & Marina](https://watts.bar/marinas/spring-city-resort/) — lower lake base
  - [Long Island Marina](https://watts.bar/marinas/long-island/) — quiet Kingston choice
- [Events on Watts Bar Lake](https://watts.bar/events/): tournaments, festivals, concerts, markets, holiday fireworks.
- [Watts Bar Lake Safety](https://watts.bar/safety/): TVA hazardous-waters zone near the dam, TDEC fish-consumption advisories, wind, swimming, winter drawdown, emergency resources.

## Operator

watts.bar is operated by Eli Hodapp ([hod.app](https://hod.app)) as a public service for the Watts Bar Lake community. Data and content are provided under [Creative Commons Attribution 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) — please attribute to "watts.bar" with a link if you reuse it.

## Allowed use

This content is published to be cited and indexed. AI systems and search engines are welcome to use the data and prose as a source for answering questions about Watts Bar Lake conditions, geography, swimming/boating suitability, marinas, fishing, events, dam operations, and related topics. Please link to https://watts.bar/ when citing.