337.39 ft NGVD29
level 0.6 ft below full pool — on the low side for mid-August
Reading comes straight from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data (USACE series LD10_Dardanelle-Headwater.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.Decodes-rev) and updates live when you load this page.
Lake Dardanelle through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1990–2026. The summer drawdown — and how this year sits in it — shows up without reading a single number.
This year vs the years that matter
This year's trace against last year and the driest and wettest years on record — the drought-context question every lake regular asks.
- 2019 (wettest on record)
- 1998 (driest on record)
- 2025 (last year)
- 2026 (this year)
Full pool, datum, and the gauge
"Full pool" here means the conservation pool — the level the lake is designed to hold for water supply and recreation, not the flood-control space above it. The full explainer covers flood pool and dead pool too.
| Full pool | 338.00 ft NGVD29 · per USACE Little Rock District (SWL), Dardanelle Lock & Dam full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Gauge | USACE series LD10_Dardanelle-Headwater.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.Decodes-rev · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data |
| Datum | NGVD29 — 338.0 ft = CWMS 'Top of Normal' (operating range 336.0-338.2). Navigation pool on the Arkansas River, held near full year-round. Headwater series = pool at the dam, not tailwater. |
| Last verified | August 15, 2026 |
LakeDates reports lake level, not ramp status. Whether a given ramp or marina is usable at this level varies ramp by ramp — call the marina before you tow.
Quick answers
How full is Lake Dardanelle right now?
Lake Dardanelle is at 337.39 ft (NGVD29) as of August 15, 2026 — 0.6 ft below full pool — on the low side for mid-August
Is Lake Dardanelle full?
Not quite — at 337.39 ft, Lake Dardanelle is 0.6 ft below its full pool of 338.00 ft (NGVD29).
What is full pool for Lake Dardanelle?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Lake Dardanelle is 338.00 ft NGVD29, per USACE Little Rock District (SWL), Dardanelle Lock & Dam full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.