1505.83 ft project datum (matches CDEC gauge)
level 9.2 ft below full pool — unusually high for mid-August
Reading from California DWR — California Data Exchange Center (CDEC station CAS); it refreshes with each site update rather than live.
Castaic Lake through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 2007–2026. 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.
- 2011 (wettest on record)
- 2015 (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 | 1515.00 ft project datum (matches CDEC gauge) · per CA DWR (State Water Project) full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Conservation capacity | 325,000 acre-feet · per CA DWR (State Water Project) capacity reference |
| Gauge | CDEC station CAS · California DWR — California Data Exchange Center |
| Datum | project datum (matches CDEC gauge) — 'Maximum water elevation of 1,515 ft' (Wikipedia Castaic Dam, cited to DWR/CDEC — tertiary; DWR pages do not publish the figure). Dam crest 1,535 (CDEC dam profile). |
| 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 Castaic Lake right now?
Castaic Lake is at 1505.83 ft (project datum (matches CDEC gauge)) as of August 14, 2026 — 9.2 ft below full pool — unusually high for mid-August
Is Castaic Lake full?
Not quite — at 1505.83 ft, Castaic Lake is 9.2 ft below its full pool of 1515.00 ft (project datum (matches CDEC gauge)).
What is full pool for Castaic Lake?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Castaic Lake is 1515.00 ft project datum (matches CDEC gauge), per CA DWR (State Water Project) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.