1453.83 ft project datum
level 1.8 ft below full pool — typical for mid-August
Reading comes straight from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data (USACE series GLEL.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.Best-NWK) and updates live when you load this page.
Waconda Lake through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 2012–2026. 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.
- 2026 (this year)
- 2025 (last year)
- 2019 (wettest on record)
- 2024 (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 | 1455.60 ft project datum · per Bureau of Reclamation (Glen Elder Dam) full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Conservation capacity | 219,420 acre-feet · per Bureau of Reclamation (Glen Elder Dam) capacity reference |
| Gauge | USACE series GLEL.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.Best-NWK · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data |
| Datum | project datum — The district publishes the gauge and the top of conservation pool figure in the project's own datum, so the two compare like for like. |
| 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 Waconda Lake right now?
Waconda Lake is at 1453.83 ft (project datum) as of August 20, 2026 — 1.8 ft below full pool — typical for mid-August
Is Waconda Lake full?
Not quite — at 1453.83 ft, Waconda Lake is 1.8 ft below its full pool of 1455.60 ft (project datum).
What is full pool for Waconda Lake?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Waconda Lake is 1455.60 ft project datum, per Bureau of Reclamation (Glen Elder Dam) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.