1018.45 ft above mean sea level
96% full share of conservation capacity, as reported with the gauge reading
level 1.5 ft below full pool — unusually high for late September
Reading comes from Texas Water Development Board — Water Data for Texas (Water Data for Texas — buchanan) by way of our own server, which asks the agency each time you load this page and passes on its figure in the agency's own datum, unchanged. Water Data for Texas publishes one figure a day for each reservoir, so the date beside the reading is the day that figure covers. For everything else the agency publishes about this reservoir, go to Lake Buchanan at Water Data for Texas.
Is Lake Buchanan full?
Not quite — 1.5 ft below full pool as of September 23, 2026
How full is Lake Buchanan? Lake Buchanan was holding 96% of its conservation capacity on September 23, 2026, per Water Data for Texas.
Lake Buchanan through the year
The band is the lake's own normal: where the level has run on each calendar day, 1937–2026. 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)
- 1987 (wettest on record)
- 2014 (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 | 1020.00 ft above mean sea level · per LCRA full-pool reference |
|---|---|
| Conservation capacity | 866,694 acre-feet · per LCRA capacity reference |
| Gauge | Water Data for Texas — buchanan · Texas Water Development Board — Water Data for Texas |
| Datum | ft above mean sea level — TWDB daily elevation in ft above msl; matches LCRA published full pool 1020 ft |
| 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 Lake Buchanan today?
Lake Buchanan is at 1018.45 ft (above mean sea level) as of September 23, 2026 — 1.5 ft below full pool — unusually high for late September. The lake is holding 96% of its conservation capacity.
Is Lake Buchanan full?
Not quite — at 1018.45 ft on September 23, 2026, Lake Buchanan is 1.5 ft below its full pool of 1020.00 ft (above mean sea level). The lake is holding 96% of its conservation capacity.
How full is Lake Buchanan?
Lake Buchanan was holding 96% of its conservation capacity on September 23, 2026, per Water Data for Texas.
What is full pool for Lake Buchanan?
Full pool (the conservation pool) for Lake Buchanan is 1020.00 ft above mean sea level, per LCRA full-pool reference. Levels above it use flood storage; levels below it are drawdown.