Western US & Texas Reservoir Levels
21 major reservoirs, updated daily from official Bureau of Reclamation, California DWR, and Texas Water Development Board gauges.
Western Reservoir Conditions·Daily·No. 45··Latest reading
Of the 21 reservoirs tracked here, 8 are below half of capacity right now, and 17 hold less water than they did a year ago (4 hold more). The Colorado River system as a whole is 30.6% full - low. The emptiest reservoir on this page is Elephant Butte Reservoir at 1.4%; the fullest is Canyon Lake at 100.0%.
❄️ Snowpack watch: Upper Colorado Basin snowpack peaked near 72% of normal this water year (below normal) — the snow now feeding Powell and Mead. See the snowpack tracker →
- Lake Mead is 26.4% full at 1,038.94 feet - very low on this site's capacity scale - and Lake Powell is 22.0% full at 3,517.71 feet (very low) as of .
- The seven Colorado River system reservoirs tracked here hold 17.79 million acre-feet combined - 30.6% of their combined 58.15 million acre-foot capacity.
- Shasta Lake is 56.9% full, Lake Oroville is 55.6% full, and Folsom Lake is 46.6% full as of - see all eight tracked California reservoirs.
- Lake Travis is 94.4% full and Elephant Butte is 1.4% full as of - see all six Texas & Rio Grande reservoirs.
- Every number on this site comes from an official government gauge (Bureau of Reclamation, California DWR, or the Texas Water Development Board), is stamped with its as-of date, and is downloadable as a full-history CSV.
Showing all 21 reservoirs
Effectively full 95% and aboveHigh 75–95%Moderate 50–75%Low 30–50%Very low 15–30%Critically low under 15%
These bands describe share of capacity, not drought severity - some reservoirs are held near the top of a narrow band by design. How they are defined.
Colorado River system
Seven reservoirs on the Colorado and its tributaries. Mead and Powell hold nearly all of the system's water; the rest are regulating or headwater units held closer to full.
California
Eight of California's largest reservoirs, from Trinity and Shasta in the north to San Luis in the Central Valley. These refill from winter rain and Sierra snowmelt, so they normally peak in spring and draw down through the summer.
Texas & Rio Grande
Six reservoirs across central Texas and the Rio Grande. The Highland Lakes above Austin and Canyon Lake respond quickly to storms; Amistad, Falcon and Elephant Butte track the longer Rio Grande drought.
Biggest changes over the past year
Change in storage over the trailing twelve months, measured in percentage points of each reservoir's own capacity so the figures are comparable.
Lost the most
- Blue Mesa Reservoir -34.3 points of capacity, to 20.3% full
- Flaming Gorge Reservoir -12.7 points of capacity, to 68.5% full
- Lake Havasu -12.5 points of capacity, to 90.5% full
- Lake Oroville -10.8 points of capacity, to 55.6% full
- Lake Powell -7.7 points of capacity, to 22.0% full
Gained the most
- Canyon Lake +32.5 points of capacity, to 100.0% full
- San Luis Reservoir +21.7 points of capacity, to 64.7% full
- Lake Travis +7.0 points of capacity, to 94.4% full
- Falcon Lake +7.0 points of capacity, to 22.2% full
- Amistad Reservoir +3.7 points of capacity, to 39.1% full
Context pages
Colorado River system storage - combined storage across all seven tracked reservoirs, with a downloadable daily system-total CSV.
Colorado River shortage tiers - the 1,075 / 1,050 / 1,025 ft Lake Mead thresholds from the 2007 Interim Guidelines and DCP, and what applies in 2026.
Post-2026 operating guidelines - the process replacing the current rules, which expire at the end of 2026.
Data downloads - full-history daily CSVs for all 21 reservoirs.
Changes shown are elevation changes in feet over the trailing week and year. Percent full is storage divided by each reservoir's published capacity - bases and sources on the about page. This site publishes observations only: no forecasts of its own, no advice.
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