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# Millerton Lake level

Live reservoir storage and water level in San Joaquin basin, California

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

> Now 239,518 af, 5% below the 5-yr median, 46% of capacity.

Millerton Lake storage fell to 239,518 af, down 3.4% from a week ago. The month-to-month decline of 21.4% has left the lake 5% below the 5-year median at 46% of capacity.

## The numbers

| Period | Current | Prior | Change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Week over week | 239,518 af | 248,073 af | -3.4% |
| Month over month | 239,518 af | 304,754 af | -21.4% |
| Year over year | 239,518 af | 245,999 af | -2.6% |
| vs 5-yr median | 239,518 af | 253,151 af | -5.4% |

### Reservoir facts

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full pool elevation | 578 ft above sea level (conservation elevation) | USBR |
| Maximum depth at the dam | 293 ft | USBR |
| Surface area at full pool | 4,810 acres | USBR |
| Total capacity | 520,500 acre-feet | CDEC |

## About Millerton Lake

Friant Dam forms Millerton Lake on the upper San Joaquin River and heads the CVP's Friant Division. Water leaves the dam through two canals, the Friant-Kern running south toward Bakersfield and the Madera Canal heading north, together supplying the east side of the San Joaquin Valley. The reservoir itself is fairly small at around 520,000 acre-feet.

Total capacity is 520,500 af, over the past five years storage has ranged from 138,280 af to 528,669 af.

Millerton Lake is one of the 20 major reservoirs this site totals each day, and one of several it tracks in the San Joaquin 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 surface area from [the Bureau of Reclamation](https://www.usbr.gov/tsc/techreferences/reservoir/Millerton%20Lake%202004%20Survey.pdf); maximum depth from [the Bureau of Reclamation](https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=133); total capacity from [the California Data Exchange Center](https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/staMeta?station_id=MIL).

## About this data

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

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