7430.16 ft USBR project datum
level 88.8 ft below full pool — unusually low for mid-August
Reading comes straight from Bureau of Reclamation RISE (Reclamation RISE item 78) and updates live when you load this page.
Blue Mesa Reservoir through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1980–2026. 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.
- 1991 (wettest on record)
- 2022 (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 | 7519.00 ft USBR project datum · per USBR Upper Colorado Basin Region (Aspinall Unit) full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Conservation capacity | 940,800 acre-feet · per USBR Upper Colorado Basin Region (Aspinall Unit) capacity reference |
| Gauge | Reclamation RISE item 78 · Bureau of Reclamation RISE |
| Datum | USBR project datum — USBR Aspinall page: full at 7,519 ft = 940,800 ac-ft total. |
| 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 Blue Mesa Reservoir right now?
Blue Mesa Reservoir is at 7430.16 ft (USBR project datum) as of August 14, 2026 — 88.8 ft below full pool — unusually low for mid-August
Is Blue Mesa Reservoir full?
Not quite — at 7430.16 ft, Blue Mesa Reservoir is 88.8 ft below its full pool of 7519.00 ft (USBR project datum).
What is full pool for Blue Mesa Reservoir?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Blue Mesa Reservoir is 7519.00 ft USBR project datum, per USBR Upper Colorado Basin Region (Aspinall Unit) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.