1000.46 ft project datum (matches CDEC gauge)
level 66.5 ft below full pool — typical for mid-August
Reading from California DWR — California Data Exchange Center (CDEC station SHA); it refreshes with each site update rather than live.
Shasta Lake through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1985–2026. 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.
- 2017 (wettest on record)
- 1991 (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 | 1067.00 ft project datum (matches CDEC gauge) · per USBR (Central Valley Project) full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Conservation capacity | 4,552,000 acre-feet · per USBR (Central Valley Project) capacity reference |
| Gauge | CDEC station SHA · California DWR — California Data Exchange Center |
| Datum | project datum (matches CDEC gauge) — CDEC sensor 6 daily elevation in feet; full pool = USACE SPK location level 'Shasta.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Gross Pool' = 1067.0 |
| 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 Shasta Lake right now?
Shasta Lake is at 1000.46 ft (project datum (matches CDEC gauge)) as of August 14, 2026 — 66.5 ft below full pool — typical for mid-August
Is Shasta Lake full?
Not quite — at 1000.46 ft, Shasta Lake is 66.5 ft below its full pool of 1067.00 ft (project datum (matches CDEC gauge)).
What is full pool for Shasta Lake?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Shasta Lake is 1067.00 ft project datum (matches CDEC gauge), per USBR (Central Valley Project) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.