Elephant Butte Water Level Today - 4,275.57 ft, 1.4% Full

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

Western Reservoir Conditions·Daily·No. 47·Tuesday, September 8, 2026·Latest reading September 8, 2026

• Elephant Butte Reservoir is 1.4% full - critically low on this site's capacity scale - as of September 8, 2026. Surface elevation 4,275.57 feet, storage 27,736 acre-feet (capacity basis 1,960,900 acre-feet), per Texas Water Development Board data.
• That elevation is its lowest September reading since 1971, and 17.54 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 4% of the September 8 average across 112 years of record.
• Elephant Butte Reservoir is rising: elevation changed +0.06 ft over the past week, +0.29 ft over the past month, and -13.15 ft over the past year, per Texas Water Development Board data.

Elephant Butte Reservoir has fallen 13.15 feet in twelve months, and now sits 17.54 feet above its record low.

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 September 8, 2026, Elephant Butte Reservoir is at 4,275.57 feet - 17.54 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

1.4% full at the latest reading - across the past 12 months it ranged from 1.4% (July 30, 2026) to 13.6% (January 6, 2026). Percent full is storage against the 1,960,900-acre-foot capacity basis, not a share of the elevation plotted above.

Elephant Butte Reservoir elevation, full record

1.4% full at the latest reading - across the storage record since March 21, 1915 it ranged from 0.1% (August 6, 1954) to 101.3% (March 6, 1996). Percent full is storage against the 1,960,900-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 September 8, 2026, Elephant Butte Reservoir's surface elevation is 4,275.57 feet, with 27,736 acre-feet in storage - 1.4% of the 1,960,900 acre-foot capacity basis. Source: Water Data for Texas (TWDB) daily data.

How full is Elephant Butte Reservoir?

Elephant Butte Reservoir is 1.4% full as of September 8, 2026. Its storage is 4% of the September 8 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 1,960,900 acre-foot capacity basis on June 12, 1998. As of September 8, 2026 it is 1.4% full. Source: Water Data for Texas (TWDB) daily data.

Is Elephant Butte Reservoir rising or falling?

Elephant Butte Reservoir is rising: its elevation changed +0.06 feet over the week ending September 8, 2026, +0.29 ft over the past month, and -13.15 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 September 8, 2026 the reservoir is 17.54 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

1,960,900 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.

Other reservoirs tracked

Texas & Rio Grande: Lake Travis, Lake Buchanan, Canyon Lake, Amistad Reservoir, Falcon Lake.
Also: Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Lake Mohave, Lake Havasu, Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Blue Mesa Reservoir, Navajo Reservoir, Shasta Lake, Lake Oroville, Folsom Lake, Lake Berryessa, New Melones Lake, Trinity Lake, Don Pedro Reservoir, San Luis Reservoir.