Notes

2025-06-12: Lake Buchanan's conservation pool elevation has been updated to a year-round elevation of 1,020.00 ft above NAVD88 +0.26. This change was implemented because, effective January 1, 2025, the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA) no longer operates Lake Buchanan to a varying seasonal conservation pool elevation.

Lake Buchanan: 97.4% full as of 2025-09-06

The elevation-storage rating curve used to produce the storage hydrograph is made of two segments: (1) the segment up to the conservation pool top (below the red line) is based on measured data, and (2) the segment in the flood pool (above the red line) is an extrapolation from the first segment and shouldn't be relied upon for flood storage information.

Historical Data

Date Percent Full Mean Water Level
(ft)
Reservoir Storage
(acre-ft)
Conservation Storage
(acre-ft)
Conservation Capacity
(acre-ft)
Surface Area
(acres)
Today 2025-09-06 97.4 1,018.98 857,570 843,908 866,694 22,235
Yesterday 2025-09-05 97.4 1,018.98 857,570 843,908 866,694 22,235
2 days ago 2025-09-04 97.4 1,019.01 858,237 844,575 866,694 22,241
1 week ago 2025-08-30 97.9 1,019.17 861,798 848,136 866,694 22,272
1 month ago 2025-08-06 99.6 1,019.84 876,767 863,105 866,694 22,414
3 months ago 2025-06-06 57.4 1,001.31 510,922 497,260 866,694 16,222
6 months ago 2025-03-06 58.1 1,001.70 517,285 503,623 866,694 16,410
1 year ago 2024-09-06 68.9 1,005.36 580,257 566,595 822,207 17,901
*

Percent Full is based on Conservation Storage and Conservation Capacity and doesn't account for storage in flood pool.

**

   Values above, including today's are averaged conditions. For near real-time instantaneous water level, see table below or the interactive map viewer.

Most Recent Instantaneous Water Level

Date/time Water Level
(ft)
Conservation Pool Elevation
(ft)
Height Above Conservation Pool
(ft)
Most recent 2025-09-06 11:30 1,019.01 1,020.00 -0.99
1 hour prior 2025-09-06 10:30 1,018.98 1,020.00 -1.02
2 hours prior 2025-09-06 09:30 1,018.98 1,020.00 -1.02
6 hours prior 2025-09-06 05:30 1,018.99 1,020.00 -1.01
12 hours prior 2025-09-05 23:30 1,018.98 1,020.00 -1.02
24 hours prior 2025-09-05 11:30 1,019.01 1,020.00 -0.99
48 hours prior 2025-09-04 11:30 1,019.03 1,020.00 -0.97
*

Data is provisional and subject to revision.

Additional Information

Impoundment date 1938-01-01
Vertical datum NAVD88 +0.26
Dead pool elevation 937.00 ft above NAVD88 +0.26
Service spillway crest elevation 1,020.49 ft above NAVD88 +0.26
Emergency spillway crest elevation 1,020.49 ft above NAVD88 +0.26
Maximum design elevation 1,023.99 ft above NAVD88 +0.26
Top of dam elevation 1,025.50 ft above NAVD88 +0.26
Conservation pool elevation
Start date: 2024-11-01
1,020.00 ft above NAVD88 +0.26
Conservation pool elevation
Start date to end date: 1990-05-01 to 2024-11-01 (Seasonal: May 1 to November 1)
1,018.00 ft above NAVD88 +0.26
Conservation pool elevation
Start date to end date: 1990-05-01 to 2024-11-01 (Seasonal: November 1 to May 1)
1,020.00 ft above NAVD88 +0.26
Conservation pool elevation
Start date to end date: 1990-03-08 to 1990-05-01
1,020.00 ft above NAVD88 +0.26
Conservation pool elevation
End date: 1990-03-08
1,020.50 ft above NAVD88 +0.26
Data download (CSV) period of record, last one year, last 30 days

Elevation-Area-Capacity Curves

2006-03-01 (source: TWDB) : GIS Data
2019-07-01 (source: TWDB) : GIS Data
Data Source LCRA:1995

Lake Location