South Dakota Lake Levels Today
8 lakes and reservoirs · updated Sep 21, 2026
Lake Levels Today tracks 8 lakes and reservoirs in South Dakota. Of the 8 with a published full pool, 4 are at or above it and 1 are well below it. The highest relative to full pool is Lake Francis Case (+3.60 ft) and the lowest is Cottonwood Springs Reservoir (−26.27 ft). Over the last 24 hours 2 rose and 1 fell by more than a twentieth of a foot; the rest held steady.
Every figure is the operating agency's own gauge reading, republished once a day. Open a lake for its staff gauge, a one-year chart, pool elevations and the source link. Elevations are in feet above the agency's vertical datum, so compare lakes by their distance from full pool, not by raw elevation.
| Lake | Elevation (ft) | From full | 24h |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lake Oahe | 1,592.17 | −15.33 ft | −0.13 ft |
| Lake Francis Case | 1,353.60 | +3.60 ft | +0.04 ft |
| Lewis and Clark Lake | 1,207.51 | +3.01 ft | +0.03 ft |
| Lake Sharpe | 1,420.87 | +0.87 ft | +0.12 ft |
| Cold Brook Reservoir | 3,585.27 | +0.27 ft | −0.04 ft |
| Cottonwood Springs Reservoir | 3,848.73 | −26.27 ft | +0.04 ft |
| Pactola Reservoir | 4,558.11 | −22.09 ft | +0.11 ft |
| Shadehill Reservoir | 2,265.68 | −6.32 ft | +0.02 ft |
South Dakota lake level questions
Which South Dakota lake is lowest right now?
Cottonwood Springs Reservoir, at 3,848.73 ft, −26.27 ft from its full pool of 3,875.00 ft.
How many South Dakota lakes are full?
4 of the 8 South Dakota lakes with a published full pool are within half a foot of it or above, and 1 are more than halfway down the conservation pool.
How often are South Dakota lake levels updated here?
Once a day. The readings on this page were pulled Sep 21, 2026; each lake page shows the exact timestamp of its gauge reading.