Lake Havasu lake and shoreline

About Lake Havasu

Officially Lake Havasu (Colorado River)

ArizonaCalifornia

Lake Havasu is managed by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Published reference elevations are listed below.

Lake Status

2.96 feet below full pool

−2.96 ft vs full pool

7-day trend
Falling
7-day change
Down 302.31 ft
30-day change
Down 303.00 ft
Last updated
Sep 23 • 12:00 AM

Lake Havasu is currently 2.96 feet below full pool and has been falling over the past week. Readings show continued drawdown relative to full pool, with levels trending lower over the past week.

Watershed drought conditions

Mohave County, AZ · surrounding county from lake location

Moderate Drought

Moderate drought is affecting the watershed.

Severity

NoneExtreme

Weekly trend

Improving

Compared with last week

Official drought

Yes

96.5% of the watershed is currently classified as official drought (D1+).

Expected impacts

  • Stream inflows may run below normal
  • Lake levels can decline faster between rain events
  • Vegetation stress may increase over time

U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 22, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Mohave County, AZ

Key Facts

Managing authority

Waterbody / project type

Reservoir

Full pool

450.00 ft

Winter pool

440.00 ftElevation published; seasonal dates not verified

Flood stage

455.00 ft

Current-level source

U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

Why the level can change

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.

  • 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.

Published reference elevations

Full pool
450.00 ft

Published reference elevation. Not necessarily a fixed year-round target for every project.

Winter / seasonal pool
440.00 ft

A winter / seasonal pool elevation is published, but Lake Insights does not have verified seasonal operating dates for this lake.

Flood stage
455.00 ft

Flood stage is not interchangeable with flood pool.

Current data source

Managing authority: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

Observation source used by Lake Insights: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation

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.

General education

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 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 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.

How we source lake data · Glossary

Common questions about Lake Havasu

Who manages Lake Havasu?
Lake Havasu is managed by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
What is full pool at Lake Havasu?
The published full-pool elevation for Lake Havasu is 450.00 ft. Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
Does Lake Havasu have a published winter pool?
Lake Havasu has a published winter / seasonal pool elevation of 440.00 ft. Lake Insights does not currently have verified seasonal operating dates for this lake.
Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Lake Havasu?
Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Lake Havasu from U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The managing authority (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.

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