1173.53 ft project datum
level 1.0 ft below full pool — unusually low for mid-August
Reading comes straight from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data (USACE series RedLake_Dam.Elev.Inst.15Minutes.0.rev-MSL1912) and updates live when you load this page.
Lower Red Lake through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 2014–2026. 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)
- 2020 (wettest on record)
- 2018 (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 | 1174.50 ft project datum · per USACE St. Paul District (Red Lake Dam) full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Conservation capacity | 1,955,003 acre-feet · per USACE St. Paul District (Red Lake Dam) capacity reference |
| Gauge | USACE series RedLake_Dam.Elev.Inst.15Minutes.0.rev-MSL1912 · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data |
| Datum | project datum — The district publishes the gauge and the top of normal 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 Lower Red Lake right now?
Lower Red Lake is at 1173.53 ft (project datum) as of August 20, 2026 — 1.0 ft below full pool — unusually low for mid-August
Is Lower Red Lake full?
Not quite — at 1173.53 ft, Lower Red Lake is 1.0 ft below its full pool of 1174.50 ft (project datum).
What is full pool for Lower Red Lake?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Lower Red Lake is 1174.50 ft project datum, per USACE St. Paul District (Red Lake Dam) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.