Pactola Reservoir lake and shoreline

Pactola Reservoir Water Level

South Dakota

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Pactola Reservoir

Pactola Reservoir is currently at a water-surface elevation of 4559.1 feet.

4559.07 ft · Updated 5 hours ago · USACE NWO District

Current level

4,559.07ft

Status unavailable

Since last reading

Up 0.05 ft

Previous readingOct 244,558.99 ft

7-day change

Up 0.33 ft

7-day trend: Rising

8 daily readings in the last 7 days

30-day change

Up 0.99 ft

29 daily readings in the last 30 days

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Water Level History

Current
4559.07 ft
24h
+0.05 ft
7d
+0.33 ft
30d
+0.99 ft

Elevation (ft) Water-surface elevation (ft)

Reference line is designed full pool.

Water Temperature

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Lake Level Context

Current lake level

Pactola Reservoir is currently 4559.07 ft. The lake has risen 0.33 ft over the past 7 days and 0.99 ft over the past 30 days.

Pactola Reservoir Level Details

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

Conditions & Reference

Level status

Summary updating

This comparison needs the current level and full pool. We use the live feed when present, otherwise the latest daily summary when it includes a pool comparison.

DatumVertical reference for published pool and stage elevations at this lake (from the lake catalog).
Water-surface elevation (ft)
Elevation reference
Not available
Source
USACE NWO District

Reference levels

No published reference elevations for this lake.

Surrounding county drought

Moderate Drought

100% of surrounding county in official drought (D1–D4).

Severity

NoneExtreme
Trend
Stable

Surrounding county drought

Pennington County, SD

Moderate Drought

Moderate Drought. The largest share of Pennington County, SD is in Moderate Drought (D1), an official USDM drought category. These figures describe the surrounding county from the lake location, not the lake itself.. Trend: Stable compared with last week. Official drought (D1–D4) yes

Severity

NoneExtreme

Weekly trend

Stable

Compared with last week

Official drought (D1–D4)

Yes

100% of the surrounding county is in official drought categories (D1–D4). Dominant category remains Moderate Drought.

Typical county impacts (USDM guidance)

  • Streamflows in the surrounding county may run below normal
  • Soils and vegetation can dry between rain events
  • Water managers may begin to watch supply more closely

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 Pennington County, SD

Daily level summary

DateLevelChange
Oct 25, 20264,559.04+0.05
Oct 24, 20264,558.99+0.03
Oct 23, 20264,558.96+0.04
Oct 22, 20264,558.92+0.06
Oct 21, 20264,558.86+0.05
Oct 20, 20264,558.81+0.06
Oct 19, 20264,558.75+0.04

Common questions about Pactola Reservoir’s water level

  • The current water level at Pactola Reservoir is 4,559.07 ft (updated 5 hours ago). You can track the Pactola Reservoir lake level on the interactive chart and daily history above.

  • The current 7-day trend for the Pactola Reservoir lake level is rising — rising about 0.33 ft over the past week. See the history chart above for the full picture.

  • Readings refresh when USACE NWO District publishes new gauge data — typically daily for most reservoirs. The timestamp above the chart shows when the latest observation arrived on Lake Insights.

Lake level glossary

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

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