Elephant Butte Lake water level today
On Oct 18, 2026, Elephant Butte Lake is at 4,296.05 ft, 4.8% full (110.25 ft below full pool). That is 18.4 points below normal for this date.
The last reading is from Oct 18, 2026: the agency has not published newer data.
Source: Texas Water Development Board · storage 95,129 of 1,985,900 acre-ft · provisional data
Elephant Butte Lake percent full history
Percent full Normal range (10th–90th percentile, 1996–2025) Average
Elephant Butte Lake from space
The same area near the lowest and the highest level since 2016, on clear days. Compare the shoreline and the coves.
Imagery: NASA GIBS, Harmonized Landsat Sentinel-2 (HLS). Landsat 8/9 courtesy of NASA/USGS. Black specks are cloud and shadow masks.
Records and key dates
- Record high
- 100.0%May 14, 1942
- Record low
- 0.1%Aug 4, 1954
- 12-month high
- 13.4%Jan 6, 2026
- 12-month low
- 1.4%Jul 27, 2026
- Last time full
- Mar 6, 1996
- Change in 1 year
- +3.87 ft+0.9 pts
About Elephant Butte Lake
- River basin
- —
- Full pool (top of conservation pool)
- 4,406.30 ft
- Conservation capacity
- 1,985,900 acre-ft
- Surface area today
- 4,754 acres
- Dead pool elevation
- 4,231.50 ft
- Flood control reservoir
- Yes
- Water supply for
- El Paso
- Data since
- Mar 21, 1915
Monthly average, last 10 years
Average percent full each month.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 10% | 11% | 12% | 13% | 12% | 7% | 2% | 1% | 2% | 4% | — | — |
| 2025 | 11% | 12% | 14% | 14% | 14% | 10% | 5% | 4% | 3% | 4% | 5% | 7% |
| 2024 | 24% | 25% | 24% | 21% | 23% | 21% | 15% | 10% | 7% | 6% | 6% | 8% |
| 2023 | 12% | 14% | 15% | 18% | 24% | 28% | 27% | 21% | 19% | 17% | 17% | 21% |
| 2022 | 9% | 10% | 12% | 13% | 13% | 10% | 6% | 4% | 5% | 6% | 8% | 10% |
| 2021 | 7% | 9% | 10% | 11% | 12% | 10% | 7% | 5% | 6% | 6% | 6% | 8% |
| 2020 | 28% | 30% | 29% | 27% | 23% | 18% | 12% | 7% | 5% | 5% | 5% | 6% |
| 2019 | 6% | 7% | 9% | 13% | 20% | 25% | 28% | 25% | 22% | 21% | 23% | 26% |
| 2018 | 21% | 23% | 23% | 20% | 18% | 14% | 8% | 5% | 3% | 3% | 4% | 5% |
| 2017 | 11% | 13% | 14% | 17% | 22% | 25% | 20% | 16% | 12% | 13% | 15% | 19% |
Frequently asked questions
Is Elephant Butte Lake full?
Not quite. On Oct 18, 2026 Elephant Butte Lake was 4.8% full, 110.25 feet below its full pool elevation of 4,406.30 ft. It was last full on Mar 6, 1996.
What is the normal level of Elephant Butte Lake for this time of year?
Between 1996 and 2025, Elephant Butte Lake averaged 23.2% full around Oct 18, and 8 in 10 years it was between 4.7% and 78.1%. Today it is −18.4 percentage points below that average.
What is the lowest Elephant Butte Lake has been?
In the TWDB record, which starts in 1915, the lowest daily value was 0.1% on Aug 4, 1954. The highest was 100.0% on May 14, 1942.
How often is the Elephant Butte Lake water level updated?
TWDB publishes one reading per day for each reservoir. We check for new data every 2 hours and show the date of the reading next to the level. Recent values are provisional.
What does percent full mean?
It is the water stored in the conservation pool divided by the conservation capacity (1,985,900 acre-feet for Elephant Butte Lake). Water above the conservation pool is flood storage and is not counted, so a reservoir can show 100% while rising into its flood pool.