South Dakota · USACE Omaha District

Cold Brook Reservoir water level

Today's reading against full pool and Cold Brook Reservoir's own seasonal history.

FULL POOL 3580 3582 3584
Elevation, feet (project datum)

as of August 20, 2026

3585.11 ft project datum

level 0.1 ft above full pool — typical for mid-August

Reading comes straight from U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data (USACE series COLD.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.Best-NWO) and updates live when you load this page.


Cold Brook Reservoir 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.

full pool 3580 3582 3584 JFMAMJJASOND
Median and normal range by day of year, 1990–2026 · elevation, feet (project datum)

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.

full pool 3500 3520 3540 3560 3580 JFMAMJJASOND
  • 2026 (this year)
  • 2025 (last year)
  • 2014 (wettest on record)
  • 1991 (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 3585.00 ft project datum · per USACE Omaha District full-pool reference
Conservation capacity 520 acre-feet · per USACE Omaha District capacity reference
Gauge USACE series COLD.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.Best-NWO · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data
Datum project datum — The district publishes the gauge and the top of conservation pool figure in the project's own datum, so the two compare like for like.
Last verified August 20, 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 Cold Brook Reservoir right now?

Cold Brook Reservoir is at 3585.11 ft (project datum) as of August 20, 2026 — 0.1 ft above full pool — typical for mid-August

Is Cold Brook Reservoir full?

Yes and then some — at 3585.11 ft, Cold Brook Reservoir is 0.1 ft above its full pool of 3585.00 ft (project datum), using flood storage.

What is full pool for Cold Brook Reservoir?

Full pool (the conservation pool) for Cold Brook Reservoir is 3585.00 ft project datum, per USACE Omaha District full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.