Elephant Butte Water Level Today - 4,296.05 ft, 4.8% Full

Elephant Butte Dam · Rio Grande · New Mexico - updated daily from official gauges

Western Reservoir Conditions·Daily·No. 91·Thursday, October 22, 2026·Latest reading October 18, 2026

• Elephant Butte Reservoir is 4.8% full - critically low on this site's capacity scale - as of October 18, 2026. Surface elevation 4,296.05 feet, storage 95,129 acre-feet (capacity basis 1,985,900 acre-feet), per Texas Water Development Board data.
• That elevation is 38.02 feet above its record low of 4,258.03 ft (August 6, 1954, the lowest since the reservoir first filled), in a daily record going back to March 21, 1915 (TWDB's period of record for this reservoir).
• Storage is 15% of the October 18 average across 112 years of record.
• Elephant Butte Reservoir is rising: elevation changed +0.77 ft over the past week, +19.83 ft over the past month, and +3.87 ft over the past year, per Texas Water Development Board data.

Elephant Butte Reservoir has risen 3.87 feet in twelve months, to 15% of its October 18 storage average.

Elephant Butte Reservoir vs its record low

In the daily record used by this site (going back to March 21, 1915 (TWDB's period of record for this reservoir)), Elephant Butte Reservoir's lowest surface elevation since it first filled (first near-full reading 1941) was 4,258.03 feet on August 6, 1954, when storage was 2,395 acre-feet. As of October 18, 2026, Elephant Butte Reservoir is at 4,296.05 feet - 38.02 feet above that record. The record high in the same series was 4,409.19 ft on June 16, 1942.

Elephant Butte Reservoir storage in context

Elephant Butte Reservoir water level, past 12 months

4.8% full at the latest reading - across the past 12 months it ranged from 1.3% (July 30, 2026) to 13.4% (January 6, 2026). Percent full is storage against the 1,985,900-acre-foot capacity basis, not a share of the elevation plotted above.

Elephant Butte Reservoir elevation, full record

4.8% full at the latest reading - across the storage record since March 21, 1915 it ranged from 0.1% (August 6, 1954) to 100.0% (March 6, 1996). Percent full is storage against the 1,985,900-acre-foot capacity basis, not a share of the elevation plotted above. Every percentage here is measured against today's capacity basis; a reservoir's surveyed capacity changes as sediment accumulates behind the dam, so early-record percentages are indicative rather than exact.

Last 14 daily readings

Frequently asked questions

What is the water level of Elephant Butte Reservoir today?

As of October 18, 2026, Elephant Butte Reservoir's surface elevation is 4,296.05 feet, with 95,129 acre-feet in storage - 4.8% of the 1,985,900 acre-foot capacity basis. Source: Water Data for Texas (TWDB) daily data.

How full is Elephant Butte Reservoir?

Elephant Butte Reservoir is 4.8% full as of October 18, 2026. Its storage is 15% of the October 18 average across its record since 1915. Source: Water Data for Texas (TWDB) daily data.

When was Elephant Butte Reservoir last full?

Elephant Butte Reservoir was last at or above 95% of its 1,985,900 acre-foot capacity basis on March 26, 1998. As of October 18, 2026 it is 4.8% full. Source: Water Data for Texas (TWDB) daily data.

Is Elephant Butte Reservoir rising or falling?

Elephant Butte Reservoir is rising: its elevation changed +0.77 feet over the week ending October 18, 2026, +19.83 ft over the past month, and +3.87 feet over the past year. Source: Water Data for Texas (TWDB) daily data.

What was Elephant Butte Reservoir's lowest water level on record?

Elephant Butte Reservoir's lowest surface elevation since it first filled (its first near-full reading in this series is from 1941) was 4,258.03 feet on August 6, 1954, per the daily record used by this site. As of October 18, 2026 the reservoir is 38.02 feet above that record low.

About this gauge

Elephant Butte Reservoir on the Rio Grande in southern New Mexico is the largest reservoir in the state and the main storage of the Rio Grande Project, which supplies southern New Mexico, far-west Texas, and (by treaty) Mexico. TWDB tracks it because Rio Grande Project storage governs deliveries to Texas.

Operator

Texas Water Development Board (Water Data for Texas)

Station

elephant-butte

Measurements

Daily water level and conservation storage

Dam

Elephant Butte Dam

River

Rio Grande

State

New Mexico

Coordinates

33.1535, -107.1917 (USGS NWIS site 08360500 (NAD83))

Full pool reference

4,406.3 ft

Capacity basis

1,985,900 acre-feet (Water Data for Texas (TWDB) conservation capacity)

Period of record

March 21, 1915 (TWDB's period of record for this reservoir)

Status

Provisional - subject to revision by the reporting agency

Update cadence

Daily

TWDB reports conservation storage against a conservation capacity that is restated as new volumetric surveys are completed, so a percent-full figure here can change without the water level changing. TWDB's methodology page is linked in the notes below.

Download the daily CSV (date, elevation ft, storage AF) or see all data downloads.

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