2564.74 ft USACE project datum
level 40.8 ft below full pool — typical for mid-August
Reading comes straight from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data (USACE series Lake Isabella-Pool.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.Calc-val) and updates live when you load this page.
Lake Isabella through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1995–2026. 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.
- 1998 (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 | 2605.50 ft USACE project datum · per USACE Sacramento District full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Conservation capacity | 568,000 acre-feet · per USACE Sacramento District capacity reference |
| Gauge | USACE series Lake Isabella-Pool.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.Calc-val · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data |
| Datum | USACE project datum — Full = SPK level 'Isabella Dam.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Gross' = 2605.5 |
| 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 Isabella right now?
Lake Isabella is at 2564.74 ft (USACE project datum) as of August 15, 2026 — 40.8 ft below full pool — typical for mid-August
Is Lake Isabella full?
Not quite — at 2564.74 ft, Lake Isabella is 40.8 ft below its full pool of 2605.50 ft (USACE project datum).
What is full pool for Lake Isabella?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Lake Isabella is 2605.50 ft USACE project datum, per USACE Sacramento District full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.