1308.23 ft NGVD29
level At full pool — typical for late September
Reading comes straight from U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (USGS gauge 03013946) and updates live when you load this page.
Is Chautauqua Lake full?
Yes — at full pool as of September 24, 2026
How full is Chautauqua Lake? Not as a percentage: no storage figure comes through with this gauge reading, and a share of capacity worked out from the elevation alone would be a guess — how much water a reservoir holds at a given level is a curve only the operator's own capacity table knows. Feet from full pool is what the operator publishes, and it is the figure above.
Chautauqua 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.
- 2026 (this year)
- 2025 (last year)
- 2018 (wettest on record)
- 1999 (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 | 1308.20 ft NGVD29 · per Warner Dam, Jamestown (county/BPU); USGS gauge full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Gauge | USGS gauge 03013946 · U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System |
| Datum | NGVD29 — Warner Dam is run to an optimum of 1,308.2 ft through the May-October recreation season and about 1,307 ft in winter. |
| 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
What is the lake level for Chautauqua Lake today?
Chautauqua Lake is at 1308.23 ft (NGVD29) as of September 24, 2026 — At full pool — typical for late September.
Is Chautauqua Lake full?
Yes — at 1308.23 ft on September 24, 2026, Chautauqua Lake is at full pool (1308.20 ft NGVD29).
How full is Chautauqua Lake?
Not as a percentage: no storage figure comes through with this gauge reading, and a share of capacity worked out from the elevation alone would be a guess — how much water a reservoir holds at a given level is a curve only the operator's own capacity table knows. Feet from full pool is what the operator publishes, and it is the figure above.
What is full pool for Chautauqua Lake?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Chautauqua Lake is 1308.20 ft NGVD29, per Warner Dam, Jamestown (county/BPU); USGS gauge full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.