Rathbun Lake lake and shoreline

Rathbun Lake Water Level

Iowa

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Rathbun Lake is currently 1.7 feet above full pool, with a water-surface elevation of 905.7 feet.

905.68 ft · Updated 2 hours ago · USACE NWK District

Current level

905.68ft

+1.68 ft vs full pool

High

Vs full pool

Since last reading

Down 0.02 ft

Previous readingSep 9905.71 ft

7-day change

Up 0.05 ft

7-day trend: Rising

4 daily readings in the last 7 days

30-day change

Up 0.05 ft

4 daily readings in the last 30 days

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Water Level History

Elevation (ft) NGVD29 · MSL

904 ft905 ft906 ftFULL POOL 904.00 ftSep 8Sep 11

Level status

1.68 ft above full pool

Current level
905.68 ft
Full pool
904 ft
DatumElevation referenced to National Geodetic Vertical Datum of 1929.
NGVD29
Elevation reference
MSL
Source
USACE NWK District

Reference levels

  • Full pool904 ft
  • Flood stage926 ft

Watershed drought

No Drought

None reported for the surrounding watershed.

Severity

NoneExtreme
Trend
Stable

Watershed drought conditions

Appanoose County, IA

No Drought

No Drought. No official drought conditions.. Trend: Stable compared with last week. Official drought no

Severity

NoneExtreme

Weekly trend

Stable

Compared with last week

Official drought

No

No official drought is reported for the surrounding watershed.

U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 8, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Appanoose County, IA

Daily level summary

  • Sep 10, 2026

    905.69 ft

    -0.02 ft

  • Sep 9, 2026

    905.71 ft

    +0.02 ft

  • Sep 8, 2026

    905.69 ft

    +0.05 ft

  • Sep 7, 2026

    905.64 ft

    —

Common questions about Rathbun Lake’s water level

  • The current water level at Rathbun Lake is 905.68 ft (updated 2 hours ago). You can track the Rathbun Lake lake level on the interactive chart and daily history above.

  • Full pool for Rathbun Lake is 904 ft — the normal conservation target elevation when the reservoir is at its designed summer or operating pool.

  • The current 7-day trend for the Rathbun Lake lake level is rising — rising about 0.05 ft over the past week. See the history chart above for the full picture.

  • Based on the latest gauge reading, Rathbun Lake is currently 1.68 ft above full pool.

Lake level glossary

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

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