Lake Oahe
Lake Oahe is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Omaha District. Published reference elevations are listed below.
Lake Status
We don't have enough recent gauge readings to summarize Lake Oahe's status yet. View the water level page for the latest published data.
Watershed drought conditions
Stanley County, SD · surrounding county from lake location
Abnormally Dry
The surrounding county is abnormally dry, which is not official drought.
Severity
Weekly trend
Stable
Compared with last week
Official drought
Yes
41.2% of the watershed is currently classified as official drought (D1+).
U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 8, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Stanley County, SD
Key Facts
Managing authority
Waterbody / project type
Official purposes
Full pool
Datum
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
- 19.3M acre-ft
- Max storage
- 23.6M acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 376,000 acres
- Drainage area
- 243,490 sq mi
- Spillway capacity (design)
- 300,000 cfs
- Dam structure
- Earth · 245 ft high · completed 1966
- Hazard classification
- High
- Safety & inspection
- last inspection Jul 21, 2022 · EAP yes
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Oahe Dam (SD01095)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Hydroelectric, Irrigation, Navigation, Recreation.
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
- 1608.00 ft
Published reference elevation. Not necessarily a fixed year-round target for every project.
Current data source
Managing authority: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Omaha District
Observation source used by Lake Insights: Not published
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. Lake Insights does not predict future lake levels unless an official forecast has been published by the managing authority.
Common questions about Lake Oahe
- Who manages Lake Oahe?
- Lake Oahe is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Omaha District. Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- What is full pool at Lake Oahe?
- The published full-pool elevation for Lake Oahe is 1608.00 ft (NGVD29). Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
- What datum is used for Lake Oahe?
- Elevations for Lake Oahe are referenced to NGVD29 (MSL).
- What are the documented purposes of Lake Oahe?
- Documented purposes for Lake Oahe (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Hydroelectric, Irrigation, Navigation, Recreation.