North Dakota · U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Lake Darling Dam)

Lake Darling water level

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

FULL POOL 1592 1594 1596
Elevation, feet (NGVD29)

as of August 20, 2026

1596.72 ft NGVD29

level 0.3 ft below full pool — this gauge's public record is too short for seasonal comparisons

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

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 1585 1590 1595 JFMAMJJASOND
  • 2026 (this year)
  • 2025 (last year)
  • 2024 (wettest on record)
  • 2021 (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 1597.00 ft NGVD29 · per U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Lake Darling Dam) full-pool reference
Conservation capacity 108,900 acre-feet · per U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Lake Darling Dam) capacity reference
Gauge USACE series LakeDarling_Dam.Elev.Inst.15Minutes.0.rev-NGVD29 · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data
Datum NGVD29 — 1597 ft is the district's top of conservation pool figure, in the same NGVD29 datum as the gauge.
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 Lake Darling right now?

Lake Darling is at 1596.72 ft (NGVD29) as of August 20, 2026 — 0.3 ft below full pool — this gauge's public record is too short for seasonal comparisons

Is Lake Darling full?

Not quite — at 1596.72 ft, Lake Darling is 0.3 ft below its full pool of 1597.00 ft (NGVD29).

What is full pool for Lake Darling?

Full pool (the conservation pool) for Lake Darling is 1597.00 ft NGVD29, per U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Lake Darling Dam) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.