2,059.04 ft
RisingChance Snow Showers then Chance Rain Showers · 1.9 mph
Good
Best window: 6:40 PM–7:40 PM
Level 23 hours ago · Weather 11 minutes ago · Open-Meteo
Brownlee Reservoir is managed by Idaho Power. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from USACE NWW District. Published reference elevations are listed below.
17.96 feet below full pool
−17.96 ft vs full pool
Brownlee Reservoir is currently 17.96 feet below full pool and has been rising over the past week. Recent conditions indicate improving reservoir levels, although the lake remains below its normal operating elevation.
Washington County, ID · U.S. Drought Monitor county statistics at the lake location (not a lake-specific designation)
Severe Drought
The largest share of Washington County, ID is in Severe Drought (D2), an official USDM drought category. These figures describe the surrounding county from the lake location, not the lake itself.
Severity
Weekly trend
Stable
Compared with last week
Official drought (D1–D4)
Yes
95.2% of the surrounding county is in official drought categories (D1–D4). Dominant category remains Severe Drought.
Typical county impacts (USDM guidance)
U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Oct 20, 2026. Updated weekly. Official drought means U.S. Drought Monitor categories D1–D4 (Moderate through Exceptional). Abnormally Dry (D0) is not counted as official drought. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Washington County, ID
General factors for reservoirs like this
These are common influences for this type of lake. They do not identify the cause of a specific current change unless an operator update confirms it.
Rainfall & inflows
Rain and upstream river inflows can raise reservoir levels, especially after storms.
Downstream releases
When an operator releases water through a dam, reservoir storage can fall and downstream flows can rise.
Published reference elevation. Not necessarily a fixed year-round target for every project.
Managing authority: Idaho Power
Observation source used by Lake Insights: USACE NWW District
Who manages the lake and who publishes the reading Lake Insights displays can differ. Lake Insights does not invent a source label from the managing authority alone.
Shared background — not lake-specific facts
Lake Insights aggregates water level information from authoritative public sources such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, NOAA, TVA, Bureau of Reclamation, power utilities, and other official lake operators. We preserve historical observations, calculate trends, and present lake conditions in a consistent format. For USACE NWW District, we link to the official source whenever it is available. Lake Insights does not predict future lake levels unless an official forecast has been published by the managing authority.
Current-level source
Flood-risk operations
Some projects store or release water under flood-risk rules when conditions require it.
Water supply
Some reservoirs support municipal, industrial, irrigation, or regional water-supply needs.
Hydropower
Hydropower projects may pass water through turbines when generating electricity.
Seasonal weather
Dry periods, heat, evaporation, and seasonal rainfall patterns can affect storage over weeks and months.