Lake levels today

Current lake levels for 400+ US reservoirs, straight from the agency gauges. Updated Sep 21, 2026.

Levels right now, most-checked lakes

Lake Elevation (ft) From full 24h
Canyon LakeTX 908.33 −0.67 ft −0.04 ft
Lake TravisTX 675.59 −5.41 ft −0.15 ft
Lake LanierGA 1,064.65 −6.35 ft −0.03 ft
Table Rock LakeMO 912.04 −4.96 ft −0.04 ft
Bull Shoals LakeAR 655.26 −5.74 ft −0.13 ft
Lake CumberlandKY 698.89 −24.11 ft −0.13 ft
Lake OrovilleCA 767.67 −128.29 ft −1.42 ft
Lake TexomaTX 615.33 −1.17 ft −0.10 ft
Shasta LakeCA 984.99 −81.78 ft −0.35 ft
Folsom LakeCA 408.15 −57.85 ft −0.16 ft
Beaver LakeAR 1,113.71 −7.72 ft −0.09 ft
Kentucky LakeKY 355.30 n/a −0.19 ft
Lake HartwellGA 649.40 −10.60 ft −0.13 ft
Medina LakeTX 1,020.96 −43.24 ft −0.05 ft
Cheney LakeKS 1,420.12 −1.48 ft −0.01 ft
Dale Hollow LakeTN 641.09 −9.91 ft −0.05 ft
Eufaula LakeOK 581.25 −3.75 ft −0.04 ft
Greers Ferry LakeAR 456.78 −5.76 ft −0.11 ft
Lake BarkleyKY 355.50 −3.50 ft −0.20 ft
Lake BuchananTX 1,018.51 −1.49 ft +0.02 ft
Lake OaheSD 1,592.17 −15.33 ft −0.13 ft
Lake SakakaweaND 1,824.36 −13.14 ft +0.07 ft
Norfork LakeAR 553.38 −2.37 ft −0.09 ft
Rough River LakeKY 490.09 −4.91 ft −0.03 ft
Broken Bow LakeOK 593.45 −9.05 ft −0.13 ft

All 465 lakes A to Z

Lake levels by state

What this site shows

Lake levels today for 465 US lakes and reservoirs, each on its own page: the current water surface elevation in feet, how far that sits above or below full pool, the percent of conservation pool, the 24-hour, 7-day and 30-day change, and a one-year chart with the pool lines drawn on it. Right now 144 of the 464 lakes with a published full pool are at or above it, and 63 are more than halfway down their conservation pool.

Every number is the operating agency's own gauge reading. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers publishes hourly elevations for its reservoirs through the Access to Water service, and the Texas Water Development Board publishes a daily value for every major Texas reservoir, including the ones run by river authorities and cities rather than the Corps. This site pulls both feeds once a day, keeps a rolling 400 days of daily means per lake, and rebuilds every page. Nothing is estimated, and every lake page links to the source it came from.

How to read a lake level

A lake level is an elevation, not a depth. When Canyon Lake reads 909 ft it means the water surface is 909 ft above the vertical datum the gauge is referenced to, which is why two lakes a few miles apart can read 600 ft and 1,100 ft and both be perfectly normal. The useful comparison is always to the lake's own pool elevations, so each page here leads with feet from full pool rather than the raw number.

Full pool is the top of the conservation pool, the level the agency tries to hold for water supply, recreation and hydropower. Above it sits the flood pool, empty most of the year and filled only to hold back a storm; a lake reading "in the flood pool" is temporarily high and will be drawn back down through the dam. Below full pool the conservation pool runs down to a bottom elevation, and the percent of pool figure is how much of that storage is left, by volume. Because reservoirs are bowl-shaped, the top few feet hold far more water than the bottom few, which is why a lake can be 6 ft down and still read 80 percent full.

The staff gauge on each lake page draws these lines to scale: flood pool, full pool, the bottom of the conservation pool, and today's level as the orange marker. If the marker sits near the top line the lake is essentially full; if it is well down the bar, look at the 30-day change and the one-year chart to tell whether it is a seasonal drawdown or a drought.

Why levels change

Inflow from rivers and rain raises a lake; releases through the dam, evaporation and water-supply withdrawals lower it. On Corps lakes the releases are scheduled. Many have a summer pool and a lower winter pool, and the drawdown between them starts in early autumn so that spring floods have somewhere to go. A steady fall of a tenth of a foot a day in October is therefore routine; the same fall in June, with no rain in the forecast, is a drought signal. Texas water-supply lakes without a flood pool behave differently again: they fill fast in a wet spring and then decline all summer as cities draw on them.

Inflow and outflow are shown where the agency reports them, in cubic feet per second. When outflow runs well above inflow the lake is being lowered on purpose; when inflow is many times outflow after a storm, the lake is storing a flood and will keep rising for a day or two after the rain stops. Water temperature appears on the handful of Corps lakes that have a sensor at the dam.

Use the 24-hour figure for what is happening right now, the 7-day figure for the trend, and the 30-day figure and chart for the season. A lake that is 3 ft down but rose 1 ft this week is in better shape for a holiday weekend than one that is 1 ft down and falling.

Who checks lake levels

Boaters and anglers checking whether a ramp or a cove is usable before they trailer the boat. Lakefront owners watching their dock. Marina and rental operators who need the number on their own site, which is what the free embed is for. People downstream of a dam reading the flood pool during a wet spell. And anyone who just wants to know, in one place, whether the lake they grew up on is full this year.

Coverage today is the Corps reservoirs across 41 states plus the Texas Water Development Board set. Bureau of Reclamation lakes, USGS-only gauges and California DWR reservoirs are the next additions; if your lake is missing, tell us which one.

Frequently asked questions

What does "lake level" actually measure?

The elevation of the water surface in feet above a fixed vertical datum (usually NGVD29 or NAVD88), read from a gauge at the dam. It is not depth. A reading of 909 ft does not mean the lake is 909 ft deep; it means the surface sits 909 ft above the datum.

What is full pool?

The top of the conservation pool: the elevation the operating agency tries to hold for water supply, recreation and power. Lake pages here show the level as feet above or below full pool because that is the number that tells you whether ramps, docks and coves are usable.

What is the difference between full pool and flood pool?

Full pool is the normal operating level. The flood pool is the extra storage above it, used only to hold back a flood. When a lake is "in the flood pool" it is temporarily above normal and the agency will release water to bring it back down. Read the full pool vs flood pool guide for the details.

How often are the levels on this site updated?

Once a day. The whole site is rebuilt from the agency feeds and every page shows the timestamp of its reading. The current build is from Sep 21, 2026. For hour-by-hour values during a flood, follow the source link on the lake page.

Where does the data come from?

From the operating agencies' own public feeds: the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water service for Corps reservoirs in 40 states, and the Texas Water Development Board for Texas reservoirs run by river authorities and cities. Nothing is estimated or interpolated.

Why is my lake not listed?

The first release covers lakes that publish a machine-readable daily elevation through USACE or TWDB. Bureau of Reclamation lakes (Mead, Powell), USGS-only gauges and California DWR reservoirs are on the roadmap. Email us and name the lake; the ones people ask for get added first.

Why does the percent full not match the feet below full pool?

Percent full is by storage volume, not by depth. A lake is shaped like a bowl, so the top few feet hold far more water than the bottom few. Being 5 ft down might mean 85 percent full on a big deep lake and 60 percent on a shallow one.

Can a lake be more than 100 percent full?

Yes. Percent of conservation pool goes above 100 whenever the level rises into the flood pool. Corps lakes routinely read 105 to 130 percent after heavy rain and drop back over the following weeks as water is released.

What is a drawdown?

A deliberate lowering of the lake, usually in autumn, to make room for winter and spring inflows or to expose shoreline for maintenance. Many Corps lakes have a summer pool and a lower winter pool, so a falling level in October is normal, not drought.

Is the level shown here the same as the one on the Corps website?

Yes, it is the same daily value from the same gauge, republished. The one difference is timing: this site refreshes once a day, the Corps page can be a few hours newer.

Does the site cover Texas lakes?

Yes, Texas has the most coverage with 125 lakes, because TWDB publishes every major reservoir in the state. Canyon, Travis, Buchanan, Medina, Lake Fork, Toledo Bend, Sam Rayburn and Texoma are all here.

What level is too low to launch a boat?

It depends on the ramp. Agencies and marinas publish the elevation at which each ramp closes; a common rule of thumb on Corps lakes is that ramps start closing 8 to 12 ft below full pool. Check the lake page for the current level, then the operating agency's ramp status list.

Can I embed a lake level on my own website?

Yes. The embed page gives you an iframe snippet for the lake search and current levels table, free to use on marina, rental and fishing sites.

Do you show water temperature?

Where the agency gauge reports it. Corps lakes with a temperature sensor show it in the pool elevations table on the lake page; most do not, so the field is simply absent.