1511.59 ft NGVD29
level 51.9 ft below full pool — unusually low for late September
Reading comes straight from U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System (USGS gauge 14180500) and updates live when you load this page.
Is Detroit Lake full?
Not quite — 51.9 ft below full pool as of September 23, 2026
How full is Detroit 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.
Detroit 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)
- 2003 (wettest on record)
- 2001 (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 | 1563.50 ft NGVD29 · per USACE Portland District full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Gauge | USGS gauge 14180500 · U.S. Geological Survey National Water Information System |
| Datum | NGVD29 — Full pool = NWDP level 'DET.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Conservation' = 1563.5 |
| 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 Detroit Lake today?
Detroit Lake is at 1511.59 ft (NGVD29) as of September 23, 2026 — 51.9 ft below full pool — unusually low for late September.
Is Detroit Lake full?
Not quite — at 1511.59 ft on September 23, 2026, Detroit Lake is 51.9 ft below its full pool of 1563.50 ft (NGVD29).
How full is Detroit 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 Detroit Lake?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Detroit Lake is 1563.50 ft NGVD29, per USACE Portland District full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.