Lake Roosevelt is managed by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Grand Coulee Dam); NPS Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. Published reference elevations are listed below.
Lake Status
5.5 feet below full pool
−5.50 ft vs full pool
- 7-day trend
- Rising
- 7-day change
- Up 2.55 ft
- 30-day change
- Up 4.79 ft
- Last updated
- 4 hours ago
Lake Roosevelt is currently 5.5 feet below full pool and has been rising over the past week. Recent conditions indicate improving reservoir levels, although the lake remains below its normal operating elevation.
Watershed drought conditions
Ferry County, WA · surrounding county from lake location
Moderate Drought
Moderate drought is affecting the watershed.
Severity
Weekly trend
Stable
Compared with last week
Official drought
Yes
100% 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 15, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Ferry County, WA
Key Facts
Waterbody / project type
Official purposes
Full pool
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
- 153 acre-ft
- Max storage
- 181 acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 8 acres
- Drainage area
- 0 sq mi
- Spillway capacity (design)
- 45 cfs
- Dam structure
- Earth · 23 ft high · completed 1910
- Hazard classification
- High
- Safety & inspection
- Satisfactory · last inspection Apr 13, 2021
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Roosevelt Reservoir (WA00212)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Water Supply.
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
- 1290.00 ft
Published reference elevation. Not necessarily a fixed year-round target for every project.
Current data source
Managing authority: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Grand Coulee Dam); NPS Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
Observation source used by Lake Insights: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
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 U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, 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 Lake Roosevelt
- Who manages Lake Roosevelt?
- Lake Roosevelt is managed by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Grand Coulee Dam); NPS Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area. Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- What is full pool at Lake Roosevelt?
- The published full-pool elevation for Lake Roosevelt is 1290.00 ft. Full pool is a published reference elevation — not a prediction of today’s level.
- Where does Lake Insights get the level reading for Lake Roosevelt?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Lake Roosevelt from U.S. Bureau of Reclamation. The managing authority (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (Grand Coulee Dam); NPS Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.
- What are the documented purposes of Lake Roosevelt?
- Documented purposes for Lake Roosevelt (National Inventory of Dams): Water Supply.