1420.03 ft NGVD29
level 1.6 ft below full pool — typical for late September
Reading comes straight from U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (USGS gauge 07144790) and updates live when you load this page.
Is Cheney Reservoir full?
Not quite — 1.6 ft below full pool as of September 24, 2026
How full is Cheney Reservoir? Not as a percentage: no storage figure comes through with this gauge reading, and a share of capacity worked out from the elevation alone would be a guess — how much water a reservoir holds at a given level is a curve only the operator's own capacity table knows. Feet from full pool is what the operator publishes, and it is the figure above.
Cheney Reservoir through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1980–2012. 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.
- 2012 (most recent on record, driest on record)
- 1993 (wettest on record)
Cheney Reservoir water temperature
80° as of August 25, 2026
Read from the USGS gauge in the reservoir near Cheney. It rides the same gauge that reads the level, out in the pool that supplies Wichita, and its year runs from the mid-thirties in February to about 81° in July. One sensor is one spot on the lake. A shallow cove on a still afternoon runs warmer than this, and the water a few feet down runs colder.
Water temperature is not water safety. A warm surface says nothing about what is under it — colder water a few feet down, currents near the dam or the spillway, or a bacteria advisory — so check with the lake office before you get in.
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 | 1421.60 ft NGVD29 · per USBR / City of Wichita (Cheney Division) full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Gauge | USGS gauge 07144790 · U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System |
| Datum | NGVD29 — Top of the conservation pool is 1,421.60 ft. |
| 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
What is the lake level for Cheney Reservoir today?
Cheney Reservoir is at 1420.03 ft (NGVD29) as of September 24, 2026 — 1.6 ft below full pool — typical for late September.
Is Cheney Reservoir full?
Not quite — at 1420.03 ft on September 24, 2026, Cheney Reservoir is 1.6 ft below its full pool of 1421.60 ft (NGVD29).
How full is Cheney Reservoir?
Not as a percentage: no storage figure comes through with this gauge reading, and a share of capacity worked out from the elevation alone would be a guess — how much water a reservoir holds at a given level is a curve only the operator's own capacity table knows. Feet from full pool is what the operator publishes, and it is the figure above.
What is full pool for Cheney Reservoir?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Cheney Reservoir is 1421.60 ft NGVD29, per USBR / City of Wichita (Cheney Division) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.
What is the water temperature at Cheney Reservoir?
Cheney Reservoir was 80° on August 25, 2026. Read from the USGS gauge in the reservoir near Cheney. It rides the same gauge that reads the level, out in the pool that supplies Wichita, and its year runs from the mid-thirties in February to about 81° in July. One sensor is one spot on the lake. A shallow cove on a still afternoon runs warmer than this, and the water a few feet down runs colder.