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# Whiskeytown Lake level

Live reservoir storage and water level in Sacramento basin, California

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

> Now 237,482 af, 0% below the 5-yr median, 98% of capacity.

Whiskeytown storage stood at 237,482 af through August 26, down 0.1% on the week. The lake is at 98% of capacity and running at the 5-year median for the season.

## The numbers

| Period | Current | Prior | Change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Week over week | 237,482 af | 237,831 af | -0.1% |
| Month over month | 237,482 af | 237,355 af | +0.1% |
| Year over year | 237,482 af | 236,687 af | +0.3% |
| vs 5-yr median | 237,482 af | 237,736 af | -0.1% |

### Reservoir facts

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full pool elevation | 1,210 ft above sea level (top of active conservation pool) | USBR |
| Maximum depth at the dam | 252 ft | USBR |
| Surface area at full pool | 3,458 acres | USACE NID |
| Total capacity | 241,100 acre-feet | CDEC |

## About Whiskeytown Lake

Whiskeytown Dam sits on Clear Creek west of Redding and regulates Trinity River water crossing into the Sacramento system. Diverted flow arrives from the Judge Francis Carr Powerhouse and mixes with local runoff before moving on through the CVP. The National Park Service manages the lake and its shoreline as the Whiskeytown Unit of a national recreation area.

Total capacity is 241,100 af, over the past five years storage has ranged from 202,807 af to 251,365 af.

Whiskeytown Lake is one of the 20 major reservoirs this site totals each day, and one of several it tracks in the 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=90); surface area from [the Army Corps' National Inventory of Dams](https://nid.sec.usace.army.mil/#/dams/system/CA10204/summary); total capacity from [the California Data Exchange Center](https://cdec.water.ca.gov/dynamicapp/staMeta?station_id=WHI).

## About this data

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

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Cite: Whiskeytown Lake level is 0% below its 5-yr median for the date. The Waterline, data through Aug 26, 2026. https://the-waterline.com/reservoir/whiskeytown-lake
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