4275.32 ft USBR project datum
level 131.7 ft below full pool — unusually low for mid-August
Reading comes straight from Bureau of Reclamation RISE (Reclamation RISE item 332) and updates live when you load this page.
Elephant Butte Lake through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1980–2026. 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.
- 1986 (wettest on record)
- 2021 (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 | 4407.00 ft USBR project datum · per USBR Rio Grande Project full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Conservation capacity | 2,109,423 acre-feet · per USBR Rio Grande Project capacity reference |
| Gauge | Reclamation RISE item 332 · Bureau of Reclamation RISE |
| Datum | USBR project datum — USBR projects page: Total Water Storage 2,109,423 ac-ft at elevation 4,407.0 (top of active conservation). CWMS SPA carries alternate 'E Butte.Elev' series. |
| 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 Elephant Butte Lake right now?
Elephant Butte Lake is at 4275.32 ft (USBR project datum) as of August 14, 2026 — 131.7 ft below full pool — unusually low for mid-August
Is Elephant Butte Lake full?
Not quite — at 4275.32 ft, Elephant Butte Lake is 131.7 ft below its full pool of 4407.00 ft (USBR project datum).
What is full pool for Elephant Butte Lake?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Elephant Butte Lake is 4407.00 ft USBR project datum, per USBR Rio Grande Project full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.