Lake Houston water level today
On Oct 28, 2026, Lake Houston is at 42.18 ft, 98.3% full (0.20 ft below full pool). That is 0.6 points above normal for this date.
Source: Texas Water Development Board · storage 130,039 of 132,318 acre-ft · provisional data
Lake Houston percent full history
Percent full Normal range (10th–90th percentile, 1996–2025) Average
Lake Houston 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; contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2018, 2026. Black specks are cloud and shadow masks.
Records and key dates
- Record high
- 100.0%Jul 19, 1996
- Record low
- 60.0%Sep 4, 2011
- 12-month high
- 100.0%Nov 22, 2025
- 12-month low
- 87.8%Apr 17, 2026
- Last time full
- Oct 16, 2026
- Change in 1 year
- −0.20 ft−1.7 pts
About Lake Houston
- River basin
- San Jacinto
- Full pool (top of conservation pool)
- 42.38 ft
- Conservation capacity
- 132,318 acre-ft
- Surface area today
- 11,354 acres
- Dead pool elevation
- 19.23 ft
- Flood control reservoir
- No
- Water supply for
- Houston
- Data since
- Jul 19, 1996
Monthly average, last 10 years
Average percent full each month.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 94% | 99% | 100% | 99% | 99% | 99% | 99% | — | — |
| 2025 | 100% | 96% | 90% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 98% | 99% | 100% |
| 2024 | 99% | 99% | 100% | 100% | 99% | 99% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 98% | 97% | 99% |
| 2023 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 97% | 98% | 96% | 100% | 100% |
| 2022 | 99% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 98% | 96% | 98% | 99% | 97% | 99% | 99% |
| 2021 | 100% | 99% | 100% | 98% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 99% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| 2020 | 90% | 93% | 97% | 97% | 91% | 93% | 93% | 92% | 97% | 98% | 95% | 100% |
| 2019 | 100% | 99% | 93% | 95% | 98% | 92% | 93% | 93% | 93% | 94% | 93% | 91% |
| 2018 | 97% | 99% | 99% | 100% | 100% | 96% | 99% | 100% | 99% | 99% | 99% | 99% |
| 2017 | 99% | 98% | 99% | 100% | 98% | 98% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 99% | 96% | 98% |
Frequently asked questions
Is Lake Houston full?
Not quite. On Oct 28, 2026 Lake Houston was 98.3% full, 0.20 feet below its full pool elevation of 42.38 ft. It was last full on Oct 16, 2026.
What is the normal level of Lake Houston for this time of year?
Between 1996 and 2025, Lake Houston averaged 97.7% full around Oct 28, and 8 in 10 years it was between 94.6% and 100.0%. Today it is +0.6 percentage points above that average.
What is the lowest Lake Houston has been?
In the TWDB record, which starts in 1996, the lowest daily value was 60.0% on Sep 4, 2011. The highest was 100.0% on Jul 19, 1996.
How often is the Lake Houston 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 (132,318 acre-feet for Lake Houston). Water above the conservation pool is flood storage and is not counted, so a reservoir can show 100% while rising into its flood pool.