2564.90 ft project datum
level 16.9 ft below full pool — typical for late August
Reading comes straight from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data (USACE series REWI.Elev.Inst.1Day.0.Best-NWK) and updates live when you load this page.
Hugh Butler 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.
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)
- 1994 (wettest on record)
- 2012 (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 | 2581.80 ft project datum · per Bureau of Reclamation (Red Willow Dam) full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Conservation capacity | 36,224 acre-feet · per Bureau of Reclamation (Red Willow Dam) capacity reference |
| Gauge | USACE series REWI.Elev.Inst.1Day.0.Best-NWK · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data |
| Datum | project datum — The conservation pool runs from 2,552 ft up to 2,581.8 ft on the project's own datum, so a reading well under the top figure is the usual late-summer picture. |
| Last verified | August 26, 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
What is the lake level for Hugh Butler Lake today?
Hugh Butler Lake is at 2564.90 ft (project datum) as of August 26, 2026 — 16.9 ft below full pool — typical for late August.
Is Hugh Butler Lake full?
Not quite — at 2564.90 ft, Hugh Butler Lake is 16.9 ft below its full pool of 2581.80 ft (project datum).
What is full pool for Hugh Butler Lake?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Hugh Butler Lake is 2581.80 ft project datum, per Bureau of Reclamation (Red Willow Dam) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.