# Elephant Butte Falls Below 30,000 af, 77% Below the 5-Year Median _Jul 26, 2026_ > Elephant Butte drops to 29,804 af, down 25% on the week and 77% below its 5-year median, the widest deficit in the digest, as Colorado drought covers 91% of the state and flows surge on the Dolores. _Numbers as of Jul 26, 2026 pull._ Elephant Butte storage dropped to **29,804 af** this week, down 25% on the week and 77% below its 5-year median, per the US Bureau of Reclamation. No other site in the digest sits further below its 5-year median. The reservoir, a primary storage buffer for Rio Grande irrigation deliveries in southern New Mexico, is now below 30,000 af mid-irrigation season. [Chart: Elephant Butte Reservoir storage](https://the-waterline.com/reservoir/elephant-butte-reservoir) ([data](https://the-waterline.com/reservoir/elephant-butte-reservoir.md) — chart image: https://the-waterline.com/charts/reservoir/elephant-butte-reservoir/chart.png) - **Dolores River (Colorado basin)**: 157 cfs, up 3,117% week over week, 63% above the 5-yr median (USGS). - **Bear River (Great Basin)**: 306 cfs, up 108% on the week, 166% above the 5-yr median (USGS). - **Blue Mesa Reservoir**: 244,556 af, down 4% on the week, 54% below the 5-yr median (Bureau of Reclamation). Drawdown continues well below normal for this period. - **Colorado drought**: 91% of the state in D1-or-worse drought, 50 pts above the 5-yr median, unchanged week over week (US Drought Monitor). - **San Joaquin Valley counties**: Fresno, Kern and Kings counties each read 0% drought coverage, running 38 to 99 pts below their respective 5-yr medians (US Drought Monitor). No week-over-week change. **Allocations (standing status):** CVP north-of-Delta irrigation, M&I and American River M&I (Folsom) allocations remain at 100%, per the Bureau of Reclamation announcement of Feb. 26. SWP statewide allocation stands at 45%, per the Department of Water Resources announcement of May 1. Neither changed this week. **Data note:** Two CVP data series have not updated in over two weeks. Operational figures from those series should be treated as stale until the Bureau of Reclamation refreshes them. --- Canonical URL: https://the-waterline.com/issues/2026-07-26