1019.47 ft above mean sea level
level 0.5 ft below full pool — unusually high for mid-August
Reading from Texas Water Development Board — Water Data for Texas (Water Data for Texas — buchanan); it refreshes with each site update rather than live.
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.
- 1987 (wettest on record)
- 2014 (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 | 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
How full is Lake Buchanan right now?
Lake Buchanan is at 1019.47 ft (above mean sea level) as of August 15, 2026 — 0.5 ft below full pool — unusually high for mid-August
Is Lake Buchanan full?
Not quite — at 1019.47 ft, Lake Buchanan is 0.5 ft below its full pool of 1020.00 ft (above mean sea level).
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.