Lake Isabella lake and shoreline

Lake Isabella Water Level

Officially Lake Isabella (Kern River)

California

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Lake Isabella

Lake Isabella is currently 49.6 feet below full pool, with a water-surface elevation of 2556.4 feet.

2556.42 ft · Updated 23 hours ago · California Data Exchange Center

Current level

2,556.42ft

−49.58 ft vs full pool

Low

Vs full pool

Since last reading

Down 0.11 ft

Previous readingOct 42,556.53 ft

7-day change

Down 0.69 ft

7-day trend: Falling

8 daily readings in the last 7 days

30-day change

Down 3.74 ft

31 daily readings in the last 30 days

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Water Level History

Current
2556.42 ft
24h
-0.11 ft
7d
-0.69 ft
30d
-3.74 ft

Elevation (ft) Isabella Project Datum (IPD)

Reference line is designed full pool.

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Lake Level Context

Level remains below the full pool

Lake Isabella is currently 2556.42 ft, 49.58 ft below its full pool. The lake has fallen 0.69 ft over the past 7 days and 3.74 ft over the past 30 days.

Lake Isabella Level Details

Reference elevations, recent daily readings, data sources, and answers to common questions.

Conditions & Reference

Level status

49.58 ft below full pool

Current level
2,556.42 ft
Full pool
2,606 ft
DatumVertical reference for published pool and stage elevations at this lake (from the lake catalog).
Not available
Elevation reference
Isabella Project Datum (IPD)
Source
California Data Exchange Center

Reference levels

  • Full pool2,606 ft
  • Flood stage2,627 ft

Watershed drought

Abnormally Dry

4.1% of watershed in official drought (D1+).

Severity

NoneExtreme
Trend
Worsening

Watershed drought conditions

Kern County, CA

Abnormally Dry

Abnormally Dry. The surrounding county is abnormally dry, which is not official drought.. Trend: Worsening compared with last week. Official drought yes

Severity

NoneExtreme

Weekly trend

Worsening

Compared with last week

Official drought

Yes

4.1% of the watershed is currently classified as official drought (D1+).

U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 29, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Kern County, CA

Daily level summary

DateLevelChange
Oct 5, 20262,556.42-0.11
Oct 4, 20262,556.53-0.1
Oct 3, 20262,556.63-0.09
Oct 2, 20262,556.72-0.11
Oct 1, 20262,556.83-0.12
Sep 30, 20262,556.95-0.08
Sep 29, 20262,557.03-0.08

Common questions about Lake Isabella’s water level

  • The current water level at Lake Isabella is 2,556.42 ft (updated 23 hours ago). You can track the Lake Isabella lake level on the interactive chart and daily history above.

  • Full pool for Lake Isabella is 2,606 ft — the normal conservation target elevation when the reservoir is at its designed summer or operating pool.

  • The current 7-day trend for the Lake Isabella lake level is falling — falling about 0.69 ft over the past week. See the history chart above for the full picture.

  • Based on the latest gauge reading, Lake Isabella is currently 49.58 ft below full pool.

Lake level glossary

Definitions for pool targets, datums, and how elevation readings are labeled.

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