Colorado · Bureau of Reclamation (Rifle Gap Dam)

Rifle Gap Reservoir water level

Today's reading against full pool and Rifle Gap Reservoir's own seasonal history.

5910 5920 5930 5940 5950
Elevation, feet (NGVD29)

as of August 19, 2026

5913.19 ft NGVD29

level Reading is unusually low for mid-August.

Reading comes straight from U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (USGS gauge 09091900) and updates live when you load this page.


Rifle Gap Reservoir through the year

The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 2005–2026. The summer drawdown — and how this year sits in it — shows up without reading a single number.

5920 5940 5960 JFMAMJJASOND
Median and normal range by day of year, 2005–2026 · 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.

5920 5940 5960 JFMAMJJASOND
  • 2026 (this year)
  • 2025 (last year)
  • 2011 (wettest on record)
  • 2022 (driest on record)

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 not published by the operator
Gauge USGS gauge 09091900 · U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System
Datum NGVD29
Last verified August 20, 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 Rifle Gap Reservoir right now?

Rifle Gap Reservoir is at 5913.19 ft (NGVD29) as of August 19, 2026 — Reading is unusually low for mid-August.

Is Rifle Gap Reservoir full?

Bureau of Reclamation (Rifle Gap Dam) doesn't publish a conservation-pool figure for Rifle Gap Reservoir, so this page shows the reading against the lake's own seasonal history instead.

What is full pool for Rifle Gap Reservoir?

Bureau of Reclamation (Rifle Gap Dam) doesn't publish a single conservation-pool elevation for Rifle Gap Reservoir. The seasonal chart shows the range the lake actually runs instead.