Lake Powell at 3,524 Feet, 34 Feet Above Minimum Power Pool and 4 Feet Above 2023 Record Low

Lake Powell measured 3,524.3 feet above sea level on July 13, 2026. The elevation sits 34 feet above the 3,490-foot minimum power pool where hydropower production stops. The reservoir holds 5.52 million acre-feet of live storage, above the 5.26 million acre-feet low recorded since the early 1960s.

It has lost about 4,800 acre-feet per day since June 1 and is 27 percent full. Operations become very complicated once elevation falls below 3,500 feet and live storage drops below 4.3 million acre-feet, according to Jack Schmidt, director of the Center for Colorado River Studies at Utah State University. The Bureau of Reclamation would be seriously concerned at those thresholds.

Lake Powell could reach dead pool at 3,370 feet, when water can no longer flow past Glen Canyon Dam by gravity and about 240 feet would remain trapped. The Colorado River Basin is experiencing the lowest snowpack on record.

More than two-thirds of the West remains in drought, with much of the basin in severe to extreme conditions. Lake Powell stands about 4 feet above the previous record low of 3,520 feet set in April 2023. Lake Mead measured 1,042.8 feet on the same date, 1.

Runoff in the basin has been 13 to 15 percent lower since the mid-21st century than in the mid to late 20th century. The Bureau of Reclamation is scheduled to release updated projections this week.