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# Rio Grande Down 31% on the Week to 177 cfs, 78% Below Normal

_Aug 27, 2026_

> The Rio Grande gauge fell 31% on the week to 177 cfs, 78% below its five-year median. Elephant Butte holds 27,438 af, flat but 73% below normal. Blue Mesa dropped 7% to 189,745 af as upper Colorado pressure continues.

_Numbers as of Aug 27, 2026 pull._

The Rio Grande gauge tracked **177 cfs** this week, down **31%** from last week and **78% below the five-year median** per USGS. Elephant Butte Reservoir holds **27,438 af**, flat on the week and **73% below the five-year median** per the Bureau of Reclamation. Per NIDIS's Aug 20 update, the reservoir stood at 1.4% of capacity with an 82-mile section of the Middle Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico remaining dry.


[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/issues/water/2026-08-27/reservoir/elephant-butte-reservoir.png)


- **Blue Mesa Reservoir** (Colorado): **189,745 af**, down **7% week over week** and **60% below the five-year median** per the Bureau of Reclamation.
- **Dolores River at Dolores-Colorado**: **14 cfs**, down **6% on the week** and **90% below the five-year median** per USGS, the widest below-normal margin of any tracked site this week.
- **Colorado drought**: **90%** of the state in moderate-or-worse drought (D1-D4) per the US Drought Monitor, 54 pts above the five-year median.
- **Yuma County (AZ) drought**: **100%** coverage, 52 pts above the five-year median per the US Drought Monitor.
- **Central Valley counties**: Fresno, Kern, Kings and Stanislaus all read **0%** drought coverage per the US Drought Monitor, ranging from 2 to 99 pts below their five-year medians.

**Allocations (standing):** CVP north-of-Delta and In-Delta M&I allocations stand at **100%** per the Bureau of Reclamation (announced February 2026). The SWP statewide allocation stands at **45%** per the Department of Water Resources (announced May 1, 2026). No allocation changes this week.

*Data note: Two CVP data series have not updated in over two weeks. Treat figures from those series as stale.*

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