# Rio Grande Surges 233% to 590 cfs, Now 39% Above Normal _Sep 3, 2026_ > The Rio Grande hit 590 cfs this week, up 233% week over week and now 39% above the five-year median. Blue Mesa fell 7% to 173,679 af. Elephant Butte holds at 27,644 af, 74% below normal. _Numbers as of Sep 3, 2026 pull._ The Rio Grande hit **590 cfs** this week, up **233%** week over week and now 39% above the five-year median, per USGS. The reading reverses weeks of deficit flow including a zero-cfs reading during peak irrigation season. Elephant Butte Reservoir, on the Rio Grande in New Mexico, holds at **27,644 af**, 74% below the five-year median and at 1.4% capacity per NIDIS's Aug 20 drought update, the furthest below normal of any tracked site. [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/2026-09-03/reservoir/elephant-butte-reservoir.png) - **Dolores River:** 68 cfs, up **383.7% week over week from 9.8 cfs**, per USGS, but still 53% below the five-year median. - **Blue Mesa Reservoir:** 173,679 af, down 7% on the week and 62% below the five-year median, per Bureau of Reclamation. NIDIS's Aug 20 drought update noted the reservoir at 26% capacity, describing it as a source of emergency water supply to Lake Powell. - **Colorado drought coverage:** 89% of the state in D1 or worse, per the US Drought Monitor, 52 pts above the five-year median. Coverage eased 2 pts on the week. - **Yakima County drought coverage:** 75% in D1 or worse, 43 pts above the five-year median, per the US Drought Monitor. No week-over-week change. - **Yuma County drought coverage:** 100% in D1 or worse, 52 pts above the five-year median, per the US Drought Monitor. No week-over-week change. **Allocations (standing status):** CVP north-of-Delta irrigation, M&I and settlement contractors hold at 100%, as announced by the Bureau of Reclamation on Feb 26. The SWP statewide allocation stands at 45%, last set May 1 by the Department of Water Resources. No allocation changes this week. *Data note: Two CVP series have not updated in over two weeks. Treat any figures from those series as stale.* --- Canonical URL: https://the-waterline.com/issues/2026-09-03