Arkansas · USACE Vicksburg District (MVK)

Lake Ouachita water level

Today's reading against full pool and Lake Ouachita's own seasonal history.

FULL POOL 572 574 576 578
Elevation, feet (NGVD29)

as of August 15, 2026

573.66 ft NGVD29

level 4.3 ft below full pool — on the high side for mid-August

Reading comes straight from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data (USACE series Blakely.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.DCP-rev) and updates live when you load this page.


Lake Ouachita through the year

The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 2015–2026. The summer drawdown — and how this year sits in it — shows up without reading a single number.

full pool 570 575 580 JFMAMJJASOND
Median and normal range by day of year, 2015–2026 · elevation, feet (NGVD29)

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.

full pool 570 575 580 585 JFMAMJJASOND
  • 2020 (wettest on record)
  • 2017 (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 578.00 ft NGVD29 · per USACE Vicksburg District (MVK) full-pool reference
Gauge USACE series Blakely.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.DCP-rev · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data
Datum NGVD29 — Top of conservation 578 ft NGVD29 per USACE water portal (Blakely Mountain Dam).
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 Ouachita right now?

Lake Ouachita is at 573.66 ft (NGVD29) as of August 15, 2026 — 4.3 ft below full pool — on the high side for mid-August

Is Lake Ouachita full?

Not quite — at 573.66 ft, Lake Ouachita is 4.3 ft below its full pool of 578.00 ft (NGVD29).

What is full pool for Lake Ouachita?

Full pool (the conservation pool) for Lake Ouachita is 578.00 ft NGVD29, per USACE Vicksburg District (MVK) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.