Minnesota · USACE St. Paul District (MVP)

Leech Lake water level

Today's reading against full pool and Leech Lake's own seasonal history.

FULL POOL 1290 1292 1294
Elevation, feet (NGVD29)

as of August 15, 2026

1294.13 ft NGVD29

level 0.8 ft below full pool — on the low side for mid-August

Reading comes straight from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data (USACE series MissHW_Leech.Elev.Inst.~15Minutes.0.best-NGVD29) and updates live when you load this page.


Leech Lake through the year

The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1990–2026. The summer drawdown — and how this year sits in it — shows up without reading a single number.

full pool 1293 1294 1295 JFMAMJJASOND
Median and normal range by day of year, 1990–2026 · 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.

full pool 1293 1294 1295 JFMAMJJASOND
  • 1999 (wettest on record)
  • 2006 (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 1294.90 ft NGVD29 · per USACE St. Paul District (MVP) full-pool reference
Gauge USACE series MissHW_Leech.Elev.Inst.~15Minutes.0.best-NGVD29 · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data
Datum NGVD29 — 1294.9 ft = CWMS 'Top of Normal' (Bottom of Normal 1294.5; regulating band seasonal 1293.8-1294.7).
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 Leech Lake right now?

Leech Lake is at 1294.13 ft (NGVD29) as of August 15, 2026 — 0.8 ft below full pool — on the low side for mid-August

Is Leech Lake full?

Not quite — at 1294.13 ft, Leech Lake is 0.8 ft below its full pool of 1294.90 ft (NGVD29).

What is full pool for Leech Lake?

Full pool (the conservation pool) for Leech Lake is 1294.90 ft NGVD29, per USACE St. Paul District (MVP) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.