Lake Powell Water Level
October 15, 2026: 3,519.79 ft — the 2nd-lowest October 15 elevation in 63 years of record (median for this date: 3,627.8 ft).
Operating rules for water year 2027
Since October 1, 2026, Glen Canyon Dam has run under Interior's 2027–2028 Operating Guidelines. USBR's August 24-Month Study projected an October 1 elevation below 3,540 ft, which puts water year 2027 in the Low Elevation Infrastructure Protection Range: the expected release is 6.0 to 7.0 million acre-feet (maf), with the final volume set in April 2027 (Guidelines §5.1.C and Table 1). The long-standing objective in the river's operating criteria is 8.23 maf a year; the guidelines state that it may not be achievable at today's levels (§5).
| Elevation | What the 2027–2028 guidelines do there |
|---|---|
| 3,510 ft | Operating floor. Reclamation cuts releases, down to 6.0 maf, and can send extra water from upstream federal reservoirs such as Flaming Gorge to keep Powell at or above 3,510 ft (§5.1). |
| 3,500 ft | Protected minimum. If any 24-Month Study projects Powell below 3,500 ft before the following March, Interior must consult the Basin States and Tribes; the lowest release the framework contemplates is 5.0 maf (§5.1.D). |
| 3,490 ft | Minimum power pool, the lowest level for generating hydropower. Below it, water can leave Glen Canyon Dam only through the river outlet works (§5.1). |
USBR's October 2026 Most Probable studies put Powell's lowest point in the next 12 months at 3,516.28 ft (7.0 and 6.0 maf release runs, February 2027). The drier Probable Minimum run (October 2026) bottoms out at 3,490.99 ft in February 2028, above minimum power pool. Charts below draw each threshold only for the months its rule applies.
Water year 2026 ended under the 2007 Interim Guidelines' Mid-Elevation Release Tier. Interior cut that year's release from 7.48 to 6.00 maf, and a 2026 drought response plan is moving 0.66 to 1.0 maf of extra water from Flaming Gorge into Powell by April 2027 (USBR 24-Month Study, September 2026, pp. 1–2). The 3,525 ft target from the 2019 Drought Response Operations Agreement expired with the 2007 rules. The guidelines were issued under the August 2026 Record of Decision for 2027–2036, adopted after the seven Basin States did not reach a consensus agreement (ROD §1).
Last five years
Full record, 1963–present
Boat ramps
At today's elevation, the lake is above the NPS minimum usable elevation for only 1 of 13 rated launch points. Ramp-by-ramp status and margins →
Shoreline map
See the lake's actual mapped shape at every key level — from the 1983 record high to dead pool — with today's nearest extent against the full-pool outline. Explore the shoreline map →
Where it's headed: USBR projections
| Month | Most Probable, 7.0 maf (Oct 2026) | Most Probable, 6.0 maf (Oct 2026) | Maximum Probable, 11.5 maf (Oct 2026) | Minimum Probable, 6.0 maf (Oct 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-11 | 3,519.44 | 3,519.44 | 3,520.2 | 3,519.44 |
| 2026-12 | 3,518.29 | 3,518.29 | 3,519.61 | 3,518.29 |
| 2027-01 | 3,517 | 3,517 | 3,521.79 | 3,515.58 |
| 2027-02 | 3,516.28 | 3,516.28 | 3,524.57 | 3,513.27 |
| 2027-03 | 3,516.53 | 3,516.53 | 3,529.64 | 3,511.22 |
| 2027-04 | 3,519.97 | 3,519.97 | 3,540.9 | 3,511.03 |
| 2027-05 | 3,530.48 | 3,533.28 | 3,571.32 | 3,512.4 |
| 2027-06 | 3,542.13 | 3,548.86 | 3,606.71 | 3,517.1 |
| 2027-07 | 3,538.03 | 3,547.97 | 3,609.61 | 3,511.76 |
| 2027-08 | 3,529.28 | 3,543.09 | 3,606.13 | 3,503.22 |
| 2027-09 | 3,525.48 | 3,540.65 | 3,606.39 | 3,497.03 |
| 2027-10 | 3,524.91 | 3,540.09 | 3,606.63 | 3,495.61 |
Projected end-of-month elevations (ft), next 12 months. Source: USBR 24-Month Study (Upper Colorado studies page); minimum/maximum-probable runs are published only some months, so their issue dates can differ from the most-probable runs. The two Most Probable runs share one October–April release pattern, so they match until the water-year release is set in April (Guidelines Table 1). A newer study supersedes these when USBR posts it.
Weather at the lake
Open-Meteo model forecast, fetched at build
Records
| Definition | Elevation (ft) | Date |
|---|---|---|
| full-series daily min | 3,394.5 | 1964-05-11 |
| full-series daily max | 3,708.34 | 1983-07-14 |
| since-2000 daily min | 3,516.62 | 2026-09-15 |
| since-2000 daily max | 3,683.4 | 2000-06-30 |
Computed from the full USBR daily series; every record states its definition. The full-series minimum (3,394.5 ft, 1964) occurred during initial filling. Water-year history →