762.25 ft NAVD88
level 5.8 ft below full pool — typical for mid-August
Reading comes straight from U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (USGS gauge 01323500) and updates live when you load this page.
Great Sacandaga 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.
- 2006 (wettest on record)
- 1980 (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 | 768.00 ft NAVD88 · per Hudson River-Black River Regulating District (HRBRRD) full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Gauge | USGS gauge 01323500 · U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System |
| Datum | NAVD88 — USGS publishes 62614 NGVD29 and 62615 NAVD88; using 62615 to match HRBRRD's NAVD88 target curve. 768 is the springtime maximum target — the lake is deliberately drafted through summer/fall (min annual target 748), so 'below full' is normal here. |
| 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 Great Sacandaga Lake right now?
Great Sacandaga Lake is at 762.25 ft (NAVD88) as of August 14, 2026 — 5.8 ft below full pool — typical for mid-August
Is Great Sacandaga Lake full?
Not quite — at 762.25 ft, Great Sacandaga Lake is 5.8 ft below its full pool of 768.00 ft (NAVD88).
What is full pool for Great Sacandaga Lake?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Great Sacandaga Lake is 768.00 ft NAVD88, per Hudson River-Black River Regulating District (HRBRRD) full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.