Santa Rosa Lake
Santa Rosa Lake is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Albuquerque District. Lake Insights displays its latest available elevation from USACE SPA District. Published reference elevations are listed below.
Lake Status
50.13 feet below full pool
−50.13 ft vs full pool
- 7-day trend
- Rising
- 7-day change
- Up 1.48 ft
- 30-day change
- Up 1.48 ft
- Last updated
- 2 hours ago
Santa Rosa Lake is currently 50.13 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
Guadalupe County, NM · surrounding county from lake location
Extreme Drought
Extreme drought conditions are present.
Severity
Weekly trend
Stable
Compared with last week
Official drought
Yes
100% of the watershed is currently classified as official drought (D1+).
Expected impacts
- Significantly reduced stream inflows
- Lake levels may fall quickly without heavy rain
- Dry vegetation and elevated wildfire risk
- Water use restrictions may apply nearby
U.S. Drought Monitor · map date Sep 8, 2026. Updated weekly. droughtmonitor.unl.eduView drought map for Guadalupe County, NM
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.
- Max storage
- 1,730 acre-ft
- Surface area at normal pool
- 76 acres
- Drainage area
- 3 sq mi
- Spillway capacity (design)
- 7,134 cfs
- Dam structure
- Earth · 72 ft high · completed 1962
- Hazard classification
- High
- Safety & inspection
- Poor · last inspection Nov 29, 2023
National Inventory of Dams · matched record: Santa Cruz Site 6 Dam (NM00561)
How this lake is operated
- Documented project purposes (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Debris Control.
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
- 4746.00 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 — Albuquerque District
Observation source used by Lake Insights: USACE SPA District
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 USACE SPA District, 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 Santa Rosa Lake
- Who manages Santa Rosa Lake?
- Santa Rosa Lake is managed by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Albuquerque District. Lake Insights reports published gauge readings; it does not operate the waterbody.
- What is full pool at Santa Rosa Lake?
- The published full-pool elevation for Santa Rosa Lake is 4746.00 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 Santa Rosa Lake?
- Lake Insights displays the latest available elevation for Santa Rosa Lake from USACE SPA District. The managing authority (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — Albuquerque District) may differ from the agency that publishes the observation used on this page.
- What datum is used for Santa Rosa Lake?
- Elevations for Santa Rosa Lake are referenced to NGVD29 (MSL).
- What are the documented purposes of Santa Rosa Lake?
- Documented purposes for Santa Rosa Lake (National Inventory of Dams): Flood Risk Reduction, Debris Control.