San Luis Reservoir
San Luis Reservoir is managed by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation / California DWR. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from California Data Exchange Center. Published reference elevations are listed below.
Lake Status
56.97 feet below full pool
−56.97 ft vs full pool
- 7-day trend
- Rising
- 7-day change
- Up 1.96 ft
- 30-day change
- Up 1.96 ft
- Last updated
- Sep 10 • 12:00 AM
San Luis Reservoir is currently 56.97 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
Merced County, CA · surrounding county from lake location
No Drought
No official drought conditions.
Severity
Weekly trend
Stable
Compared with last week
Official drought
No
Current conditions are classified as Abnormally Dry (D0), which is not considered official drought.
U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 8, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Merced County, CA
Key Facts
Managing authority
Waterbody / project type
Official purposes
Full pool
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
- 87,500 acre-ft
- Max storage
- 88,000 acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 1,240 acres
- Drainage area
- 423 sq mi
- Spillway capacity (design)
- 208,800 cfs
- Dam structure
- Earth · 213 ft high · completed 1955
- Hazard classification
- High
- Safety & inspection
- Poor · last inspection Aug 6, 2025
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Santa Felicia Dam (CA00805)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Water Supply, Hydroelectric, Irrigation, 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
- 544.00 ft
Published reference elevation. Not necessarily a fixed year-round target for every project.
Current data source
Managing authority: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation / California DWR
Observation source used by Lake Insights: California Data Exchange Center
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 California Data Exchange Center, 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 San Luis Reservoir
- Who manages San Luis Reservoir?
- San Luis Reservoir is managed by U.S. Bureau of Reclamation / California DWR. Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- What is full pool at San Luis Reservoir?
- The published full-pool elevation for San Luis Reservoir is 544.00 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 San Luis Reservoir?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for San Luis Reservoir from California Data Exchange Center. The managing authority (U.S. Bureau of Reclamation / California DWR) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.
- What datum is used for San Luis Reservoir?
- Elevations for San Luis Reservoir are referenced to NGVD29 (MSL).
- What are the documented purposes of San Luis Reservoir?
- Documented purposes for San Luis Reservoir (National Inventory of Dams): Water Supply, Hydroelectric, Irrigation, Recreation.