Conchas Lake
Conchas Lake held 155,789 acre-feet on Oct 19, 2026, 49.5% of its conservation pool: normal for the date (the middle of past years is 49.6%).
A flood-control dam with a conservation or recreation pool beneath a much larger flood pool. On Canadian River, at the Conchas River. Canadian basin.
The latest reading for this reservoir is from Oct 19, 2026, older than most others.
These lakes hold a normal "conservation" or recreation pool and keep a much larger space empty to catch floods. Percent is measured against the conservation pool, so a reading above 100% means flood water is being held back.
Last 365 days
Percent of the conservation pool, against the middle and spread of the same date in other years (the shaded bands: the middle half and the 10th to 90th percentile of past years).
- Median of past years
- Percent of conservation pool
- 10th–90th percentile of past years
- Middle half of past years
Show the data as a table
Year by year
The highest, average and lowest percent of the conservation pool in each calendar year. The latest year is partial. Years whose capacity is less certain are marked in the table below.
- Highest
- Average
- Lowest
Show the data as a table
The comparison uses 30 years of 1991-2020 whose capacity figure is published, current-table, high- or medium-confidence, 1991–2020, pooling 3 days either side of each date.
Readings are what the operating agencies report; we have not audited the latest values. Reclamation labels its data "provisional and subject to revision unless otherwise noted."
Year-by-year table, with how well capacity is known
| Year | Days | Most (acre-feet) | Average | Least | Highest % | Average % | Lowest % | Capacity figure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 292 | 242,305 | 207,912 | 145,375 | 77.0% | 66.0% | 46.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2025 | 365 | 250,071 | 216,135 | 175,385 | 79.4% | 68.7% | 55.7% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2024 | 366 | 182,085 | 131,492 | 114,049 | 57.8% | 41.8% | 36.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2023 | 365 | 145,215 | 111,737 | 81,267 | 46.1% | 35.5% | 25.8% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2022 | 365 | 86,354 | 79,470 | 70,228 | 27.4% | 25.2% | 22.3% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2021 | 365 | 86,554 | 78,010 | 69,370 | 27.5% | 24.8% | 22.0% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2020 | 366 | 134,425 | 106,782 | 75,858 | 42.7% | 33.9% | 24.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2019 | 365 | 192,912 | 169,573 | 134,270 | 61.3% | 53.9% | 42.7% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2018 | 365 | 274,395 | 229,139 | 184,256 | 87.2% | 72.8% | 58.5% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2017 | 365 | 272,239 | 169,571 | 121,658 | 86.5% | 53.9% | 38.6% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2016 | 366 | 200,671 | 169,432 | 131,694 | 63.6% | 53.7% | 41.7% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2015 | 365 | 198,689 | 167,010 | 136,581 | 62.9% | 52.9% | 43.3% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2014 | 365 | 168,684 | 151,199 | 136,485 | 53.4% | 47.9% | 43.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2013 | 365 | 160,435 | 93,583 | 57,357 | 50.8% | 29.6% | 18.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2012 | 366 | 78,096 | 70,487 | 63,486 | 24.7% | 22.3% | 20.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2011 | 365 | 84,036 | 78,602 | 68,919 | 26.6% | 24.9% | 21.8% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2010 | 365 | 101,964 | 90,564 | 83,126 | 32.3% | 28.7% | 26.3% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2009 | 365 | 89,799 | 84,799 | 79,584 | 28.4% | 26.9% | 25.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2008 | 366 | 102,794 | 92,953 | 82,735 | 32.6% | 29.4% | 26.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2007 | 365 | 149,373 | 131,908 | 101,041 | 47.3% | 41.8% | 32.0% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2006 | 365 | 161,393 | 146,769 | 116,696 | 51.1% | 46.5% | 37.0% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2005 | 365 | 196,213 | 159,851 | 124,970 | 62.1% | 50.6% | 39.6% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2004 | 366 | 124,998 | 97,401 | 70,109 | 39.6% | 30.8% | 22.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2003 | 365 | 88,080 | 80,583 | 71,450 | 27.9% | 25.5% | 22.6% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2002 | 365 | 104,200 | 91,856 | 79,320 | 33.0% | 29.1% | 25.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2001 | 365 | 207,100 | 158,852 | 103,700 | 65.6% | 50.3% | 32.8% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2000 | 366 | 296,700 | 244,646 | 179,700 | 94.0% | 77.5% | 56.9% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1999 | 365 | 322,000 | 282,545 | 235,500 | 102.0% | 89.5% | 74.6% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1998 | 365 | 311,000 | 268,755 | 227,100 | 98.5% | 85.1% | 71.9% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1997 | 365 | 324,000 | 293,205 | 279,100 | 102.6% | 92.9% | 88.4% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1996 | 366 | 306,000 | 283,119 | 244,600 | 96.9% | 89.7% | 77.5% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1995 | 365 | 318,200 | 296,424 | 273,000 | 100.8% | 93.9% | 86.5% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1994 | 365 | 317,800 | 274,093 | 247,300 | 100.7% | 86.8% | 78.3% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1993 | 365 | 278,200 | 263,219 | 245,300 | 88.1% | 83.4% | 77.7% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1992 | 366 | 307,400 | 288,913 | 259,300 | 97.4% | 91.5% | 82.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1991 | 365 | 287,700 | 213,544 | 160,900 | 91.1% | 67.6% | 51.0% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1990 | 365 | 216,500 | 195,690 | 165,300 | 68.6% | 62.0% | 52.4% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1989 | 365 | 268,800 | 235,184 | 209,000 | 85.1% | 74.5% | 66.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1988 | 366 | 292,200 | 276,470 | 263,800 | 92.5% | 87.6% | 83.6% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1987 | 365 | 335,200 | 319,252 | 299,600 | 106.2% | 101.1% | 94.9% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1986 | 365 | 317,200 | 286,652 | 256,100 | 100.5% | 90.8% | 81.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1985 | 365 | 302,500 | 259,254 | 205,200 | 95.8% | 82.1% | 65.0% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1984 | 366 | 225,300 | 209,647 | 194,600 | 71.4% | 66.4% | 61.6% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1983 | 365 | 291,500 | 252,559 | 222,800 | 92.3% | 80.0% | 70.6% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1982 | 365 | 245,100 | 186,688 | 125,900 | 77.6% | 59.1% | 39.9% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1981 | 365 | 158,200 | 120,241 | 77,440 | 50.1% | 38.1% | 24.5% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1980 | 366 | 182,200 | 144,498 | 114,600 | 57.7% | 45.8% | 36.3% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1979 | 365 | 179,400 | 133,705 | 88,370 | 56.8% | 42.3% | 28.0% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1978 | 365 | 118,800 | 97,820 | 80,700 | 37.6% | 31.0% | 25.6% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1977 | 365 | 129,400 | 95,074 | 80,140 | 41.0% | 30.1% | 25.4% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1976 | 366 | 95,620 | 83,340 | 78,080 | 30.3% | 26.4% | 24.7% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1975 | 365 | 133,000 | 109,027 | 81,550 | 42.1% | 34.5% | 25.8% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1974 | 365 | 256,500 | 185,979 | 129,000 | 81.2% | 58.9% | 40.9% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1973 | 365 | 315,600 | 262,998 | 217,000 | 100.0% | 83.3% | 68.7% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1972 | 366 | 216,900 | 166,821 | 111,300 | 68.7% | 52.8% | 35.3% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1971 | 365 | 241,800 | 188,236 | 150,100 | 76.6% | 59.6% | 47.5% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1970 | 365 | 320,000 | 284,218 | 239,500 | 101.4% | 90.0% | 75.9% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1969 | 365 | 313,000 | 243,287 | 192,800 | 99.1% | 77.1% | 61.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1968 | 366 | 272,100 | 239,695 | 208,900 | 86.2% | 75.9% | 66.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1967 | 365 | 284,400 | 265,577 | 225,700 | 90.1% | 84.1% | 71.5% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1966 | 365 | 347,100 | 309,878 | 274,500 | 109.9% | 98.1% | 86.9% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1965 | 92 | 350,300 | 347,463 | 343,400 | 110.9% | 110.0% | 108.8% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
About this reservoir
An Army Corps dam on the Canadian River, completed in 1940. Its conservation pool supplies the Arch Hurley Conservancy District around Tucumcari, and its flood pool protects the Canadian valley downstream.
How to use these numbers
- Canadian basin supply. Conservation-pool storage is the irrigation supply for the Tucumcari area.
- Plains storm runoff. Inflow on the Canadian is dominated by summer storms rather than snowmelt, so it complements the Rio Grande reservoirs.
Read before quoting a number
- Before 2004 the record is storage only, with no elevation, so the capacity table in force in those years cannot be identified. Those years use the earliest derived capacity and are flagged.
- No release series is reported here. Most Conchas releases go into the Conchas Canal to Arch Hurley rather than down the Canadian, and the archive's canal and river gauges below the dam stop in the 1970s to 1990s, so they would understate releases badly.
The dam
| Dam | Conchas Dam |
|---|---|
| Owner | USACE - Albuquerque District (Federal) |
| Operated with | US Army Corps of Engineers |
| Type | Gravity, Earth |
| Purposes, per the dam registry | Flood Risk Reduction, Recreation |
| Completed | 1940 |
| Height | 235 feet |
| Hazard class | High |
| Registry capacity | 709,119 acre-feet at most, 61,532 normal. Owner-reported and not corrected for sediment. |
National Inventory of Dams, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
How capacity is known
Capacity comes from the operator's elevation-to-storage table (USACE, effective 2017-01-01), checked against the storage the operator reports. Since the table took effect, it reproduces reported storage from reported elevation to within 0 acre-feet in the median (0.00% of storage), across 3,579 days. Where an older table was in force, we recover its capacity from the record and say how well supported it is.
| Pool | Elevation (ft) | Capacity now (acre-feet) | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top of conservation poolused as 100% | 4,201 | 314,797 | CWMS level Conchas.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Conservation dated 1900-01-01 |
| Top of flood pool | 4,218 | 514,264 | CWMS level Conchas.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Flood dated 1900-01-01 |
| Top of dam | 4,235 | 780,378 | CWMS level Conchas.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Dam dated 1900-01-01 |
| Top of inactive pool | 4,155 | 60,375 | CWMS level Conchas.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Inactive dated 1900-01-01 |
Capacity over time (2 tables in force)
| Period | Capacity (acre-feet) | How well supported |
|---|---|---|
| 2004-02-11 to 2016-12-312004-2016 table | 316,122 | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 2017-01-01 to 2026-10-19current table | 314,797 | The operator's current table fits the record |
Rivers
Data and sources
Record from 1965 (62 years with readings), through Oct 19, 2026. Where several agencies report the same reservoir, we take each day's value from the first in this list that has one:
- U.S. Geological Survey NWIS: 14,012 days
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers CWMS: 8,287 days
Year by year (CSV) · Last 365 days (CSV)
Credit: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers CWMS; U.S. Geological Survey NWIS; National Inventory of Dams (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). Capacity analysis by New Mexico Water. Data accessed November 4, 2026.