Sam Rayburn Reservoir water level today
On Oct 28, 2026, Sam Rayburn Reservoir is at 152.94 ft, 61.0% full (11.46 ft below full pool). That is 20.7 points below normal for this date.
Lowest since January 2012Low
Source: Texas Water Development Board · storage 1,743,948 of 2,857,077 acre-ft · provisional data
Sam Rayburn Reservoir percent full history
Percent full Normal range (10th–90th percentile, 1996–2025) Average
Sam Rayburn Reservoir 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 2025, 2026. Black specks are cloud and shadow masks.
Records and key dates
- Record high
- 100.0%Apr 9, 1989
- Record low
- 54.7%Aug 11, 1996
- 12-month high
- 73.0%Jul 1, 2026
- 12-month low
- 61.0%Oct 28, 2026
- Last time full
- May 31, 2025
- Change in 1 year
- −2.92 ft−8.7 pts
About Sam Rayburn Reservoir
- River basin
- Neches
- Full pool (top of conservation pool)
- 164.40 ft
- Conservation capacity
- 2,857,077 acre-ft
- Surface area today
- 81,178 acres
- Dead pool elevation
- 105.00 ft
- Flood control reservoir
- Yes
- Water supply for
- Beaumont Port Arthur
- Data since
- Jun 19, 1988
Monthly average, last 10 years
Average percent full each month.
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 67% | 68% | 70% | 71% | 71% | 72% | 73% | 70% | 66% | 63% | — | — |
| 2025 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 97% | 89% | 75% | 74% | 71% | 68% | 67% |
| 2024 | 75% | 94% | 82% | 82% | 99% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 98% | 93% | 90% | 91% |
| 2023 | 85% | 98% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 99% | 94% | 86% | 82% | 79% | 76% | 74% |
| 2022 | 87% | 87% | 88% | 94% | 96% | 93% | 88% | 84% | 83% | 79% | 77% | 77% |
| 2021 | 92% | 94% | 97% | 99% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 99% | 95% | 91% | 88% | 87% |
| 2020 | 94% | 99% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 98% | 95% | 92% | 88% | 86% | 84% | 84% |
| 2019 | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 96% | 93% | 90% | 91% | 91% |
| 2018 | 90% | 93% | 100% | 100% | 99% | 94% | 91% | 89% | 86% | 89% | 97% | 100% |
| 2017 | 90% | 94% | 94% | 94% | 95% | 100% | 99% | 96% | 100% | 98% | 94% | 90% |
Frequently asked questions
Is Sam Rayburn Reservoir full?
Not quite. On Oct 28, 2026 Sam Rayburn Reservoir was 61.0% full, 11.46 feet below its full pool elevation of 164.40 ft. It was last full on May 31, 2025.
What is the normal level of Sam Rayburn Reservoir for this time of year?
Between 1996 and 2025, Sam Rayburn Reservoir averaged 81.7% full around Oct 28, and 8 in 10 years it was between 69.4% and 91.4%. Today it is −20.7 percentage points below that average.
What is the lowest Sam Rayburn Reservoir has been?
In the TWDB record, which starts in 1988, the lowest daily value was 54.7% on Aug 11, 1996. The highest was 100.0% on Apr 9, 1989.
How often is the Sam Rayburn Reservoir 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 (2,857,077 acre-feet for Sam Rayburn Reservoir). Water above the conservation pool is flood storage and is not counted, so a reservoir can show 100% while rising into its flood pool.