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# Folsom Lake level

Live reservoir storage and water level in American-Sacramento basin, California

_Data through Aug 26, 2026 · source last checked Aug 27, 2026 · page revised Aug 27, 2026_

> Now 474,332 af, 1% below the 5-yr median, 49% of capacity.

Folsom Lake storage fell to 474,332 af, down 6.5% from the prior week. The month-to-date decline totals 30.3%. Storage is 1% below the 5-year median and 49% of capacity.

## The numbers

| Period | Current | Prior | Change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Week over week | 474,332 af | 507,513 af | -6.5% |
| Month over month | 474,332 af | 680,677 af | -30.3% |
| Year over year | 474,332 af | 481,433 af | -1.5% |
| vs 5-yr median | 474,332 af | 481,433 af | -1.5% |

### Reservoir facts

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full pool elevation | 466 ft above sea level | USBR |
| Maximum depth at the dam | 275.4 ft | USBR |
| Surface area at full pool | 11,180 acres | USACE NID |
| Total capacity | 977,000 acre-feet | CDEC |

## About Folsom Lake

Folsom Dam holds back the American River just above Sacramento, a CVP reservoir built as much for flood control as for supply. A large share of its roughly one-million-acre-foot capacity stays empty through winter as flood space for the city below. Reclamation operates the water and power while California State Parks runs the shoreline recreation area.

Total capacity is 977,000 af, over the past five years storage has ranged from 214,225 af to 959,148 af.

Folsom Lake is one of the 20 major reservoirs this site totals each day, and one of several it tracks in the American-Sacramento basin. For the combined picture, [western reservoir levels](/reservoir/tracked-total) carries the storage of all 20 on one chart, which is the number to watch when the question is about the West as a whole rather than about this project.

Those figures describe the reservoir at full pool, not today. The chart at the top of this page tracks storage in acre-feet rather than water depth, so read the current figure against total capacity for how full the reservoir is, and against the full pool elevation and maximum depth for the size of the water column behind the dam. The two do not move together one for one: a reservoir narrows as it deepens, so one holding half its capacity still stands more than half as deep.

Sources: full pool elevation and maximum depth from [the Bureau of Reclamation](https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=74); surface area from [the Army Corps' National Inventory of Dams](https://nid.sec.usace.army.mil/#/dams/system/CA10148/summary); total capacity from [the California Data Exchange Center](https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/staMeta?station_id=FOL).

## About this data

- Source: US Bureau of Reclamation RISE; California reservoirs via CA DWR CDEC
- Series: End-of-day reservoir storage
- Geography: Folsom Lake level
- Unit: acre-feet
- Calculation period: Daily reading
- Last observation: Aug 26, 2026
- Update frequency: Daily

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Cite: Folsom Lake level is 2% below its 5-yr median for the date. The Waterline, data through Aug 26, 2026. https://the-waterline.com/reservoir/folsom-lake
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