Montana · Bureau of Reclamation (Clark Canyon Dam)

Clark Canyon Reservoir water level

Today's reading against full pool and Clark Canyon Reservoir's own seasonal history.

FULL POOL 5510 5520 5530 5540
Elevation, feet (project datum)

as of August 20, 2026

5514.40 ft project datum

level 31.7 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 CLCA.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.Best-NWO) and updates live when you load this page.


Clark Canyon Reservoir 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 5510 5520 5530 5540 5550 JFMAMJJASOND
Median and normal range by day of year, 1990–2026 · elevation, feet (project datum)

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 5500 5520 5540 5560 JFMAMJJASOND
  • 2026 (this year)
  • 2025 (last year)
  • 2011 (wettest on record)
  • 2004 (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 5546.10 ft project datum · per Bureau of Reclamation (Clark Canyon Dam) full-pool reference
Conservation capacity 174,367 acre-feet · per Bureau of Reclamation (Clark Canyon Dam) capacity reference
Gauge USACE series CLCA.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.Best-NWO · 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 Clark Canyon Reservoir right now?

Clark Canyon Reservoir is at 5514.40 ft (project datum) as of August 20, 2026 — 31.7 ft below full pool — on the low side for mid-August

Is Clark Canyon Reservoir full?

Not quite — at 5514.40 ft, Clark Canyon Reservoir is 31.7 ft below its full pool of 5546.10 ft (project datum).

What is full pool for Clark Canyon Reservoir?

Full pool (the conservation pool) for Clark Canyon Reservoir is 5546.10 ft project datum, per Bureau of Reclamation (Clark Canyon Dam) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.