John Redmond Reservoir is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from USACE Tulsa District. Published reference elevations are listed below.
Lake Status
0.39 feet above full pool
+0.39 ft vs full pool
- 7-day trend
- Rising
- 7-day change
- Up 0.37 ft
- 30-day change
- Down 1.04 ft
- Last updated
- 1 hour ago
John Redmond Reservoir is currently 0.39 feet above full pool and has risen slightly over the past week. The lake is above full pool and has continued to rise over the past week.
Watershed drought conditions
Coffey County, KS · surrounding county from lake location
Moderate Drought
Moderate drought is affecting the watershed.
Severity
Weekly trend
Worsening
Compared with last week
Official drought
Yes
69.4% 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 8, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Coffey County, KS
Key Facts
Managing authority
Waterbody / project type
Official purposes
Full pool
Flood stage
Datum
Current-level source
Project / NID identifier
Dam / watershed (NID design values)
Static design values from a confidently matched National Inventory of Dams record — not live gage readings.
- Normal storage
- 26 acre-ft
- Max storage
- 64 acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 6 acres
- Drainage area
- 2 sq mi
- Spillway capacity (design)
- 390 cfs
- Dam structure
- Earth · 20 ft high
- Hazard classification
- High
- Safety & inspection
- last inspection Jun 24, 2008
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Johnson/Tadlock Dam (KS01251)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond.
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
- 1041.00 ft
- Flood stage
- 1068.00 ft
Published reference elevation. Not necessarily a fixed year-round target for every project.
Flood stage is not interchangeable with flood pool.
Current data source
Managing authority: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Observation source used by Lake Insights: USACE Tulsa 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.
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 USACE Tulsa 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.
Common questions about John Redmond Reservoir
- Who manages John Redmond Reservoir?
- John Redmond Reservoir is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- What is full pool at John Redmond Reservoir?
- The published full-pool elevation for John Redmond Reservoir is 1041.00 ft (NGVD29). Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
- Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for John Redmond Reservoir?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for John Redmond Reservoir from USACE Tulsa District. The managing authority (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.
- What datum is used for John Redmond Reservoir?
- Elevations for John Redmond Reservoir are referenced to NGVD29 (MSL).
- What are the documented purposes of John Redmond Reservoir?
- Documented purposes for John Redmond Reservoir (National Inventory of Dams): Fire Protection, Stock, Or Small Fish Pond.