South Dakota · Bureau of Reclamation (Deerfield Dam)

Deerfield Reservoir water level

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

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Elevation, feet (project datum)

as of August 20, 2026

5904.67 ft project datum

level Reading is typical for mid-August.

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


Deerfield Reservoir through the year

The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 2001–2026. The summer drawdown — and how this year sits in it — shows up without reading a single number.

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Median and normal range by day of year, 2001–2026 · 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.

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  • 2026 (this year)
  • 2025 (last year, wettest on record)
  • 2002 (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 not published by the operator
Gauge USACE series DFSD.Elev.Inst.1Hour.0.Best-NWO · U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Access to Water data
Datum project datum — The district publishes the gauge in the project's own datum.
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 Deerfield Reservoir right now?

Deerfield Reservoir is at 5904.67 ft (project datum) as of August 20, 2026 — Reading is typical for mid-August.

Is Deerfield Reservoir full?

Bureau of Reclamation (Deerfield Dam) doesn't publish a conservation-pool figure for Deerfield Reservoir, so this page shows the reading against the lake's own seasonal history instead.

What is full pool for Deerfield Reservoir?

Bureau of Reclamation (Deerfield Dam) doesn't publish a single conservation-pool elevation for Deerfield Reservoir. The seasonal chart shows the range the lake actually runs instead.