Elephant Butte Reservoir
Elephant Butte Reservoir held 148,971 acre-feet on Nov 2, 2026, 7.4% of its full pool: below normal for the date (the middle of past years is 58.7%).
A storage reservoir: it holds water for later release. On Rio Grande. Rio Grande basin.
148,971acre-feet held, Nov 2, 2026
7.4%of the full pool (2,010,900 acre-feet)
below normalfor the date; typical 59%
Up 82,057acre-feet over 30 days
88,440acre-feet a year ago (4.4%)
These reservoirs hold water for later use. Percent full is the water held divided by what the reservoir can hold at its full pool, using the capacity that applied at the time.
Last 365 days
Percent of the full 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 full 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 full 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 20 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 | 306 | 251,819 | 146,947 | 26,732 | 12.5% | 7.3% | 1.3% | The operator's current table fits the record |
| 2025 | 365 | 282,605 | 168,420 | 62,674 | 14.1% | 8.4% | 3.1% | The operator's current table fits the record |
| 2024 | 366 | 510,200 | 310,878 | 112,586 | 25.4% | 15.5% | 5.6% | The operator's current table fits the record |
| 2023 | 365 | 570,686 | 386,217 | 227,459 | 28.4% | 19.2% | 11.3% | The operator's current table fits the record |
| 2022 | 365 | 265,222 | 175,911 | 73,855 | 13.2% | 8.7% | 3.7% | The operator's current table fits the record |
| 2021 | 365 | 245,320 | 157,034 | 97,524 | 12.2% | 7.8% | 4.8% | The operator's current table fits the record |
| 2020 | 366 | 611,125 | 315,988 | 81,640 | 30.4% | 15.7% | 4.1% | The operator's current table fits the record |
| 2019 | 365 | 577,261 | 384,762 | 115,976 | 28.7% | 19.1% | 5.8% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 2018 | 365 | 483,692 | 251,318 | 58,240 | 24.0% | 12.5% | 2.9% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 2017 | 365 | 516,226 | 340,432 | 203,956 | 25.7% | 16.9% | 10.1% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 2016 | 366 | 430,441 | 259,482 | 125,963 | 21.4% | 12.9% | 6.3% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 2015 | 365 | 399,965 | 287,764 | 166,224 | 19.9% | 14.3% | 8.3% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 2014 | 365 | 378,177 | 256,847 | 130,889 | 18.8% | 12.8% | 6.5% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 2013 | 365 | 279,060 | 173,177 | 60,327 | 13.9% | 8.6% | 3.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 2012 | 366 | 390,020 | 245,306 | 109,440 | 19.4% | 12.2% | 5.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 2011 | 365 | 504,810 | 323,853 | 189,260 | 25.1% | 16.1% | 9.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 2010 | 365 | 604,147 | 479,502 | 362,101 | 30.0% | 23.8% | 18.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 2009 | 365 | 705,250 | 571,492 | 448,246 | 35.1% | 28.4% | 22.3% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 2008 | 366 | 648,790 | 559,766 | 409,700 | 32.1% | 27.7% | 20.3% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 2007 | 365 | 611,060 | 485,915 | 323,490 | 30.2% | 24.1% | 16.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 2006 | 365 | 514,030 | 378,384 | 183,870 | 25.4% | 18.7% | 9.1% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 2005 | 365 | 560,920 | 370,874 | 194,430 | 27.8% | 18.4% | 9.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 2004 | 366 | 322,870 | 197,746 | 94,610 | 16.0% | 9.8% | 4.7% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 2003 | 365 | 405,310 | 275,443 | 147,950 | 20.1% | 13.6% | 7.3% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 2002 | 365 | 916,681 | 570,669 | 280,622 | 45.4% | 28.2% | 13.9% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 2001 | 365 | 1,306,114 | 1,043,026 | 840,432 | 64.7% | 51.6% | 41.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 2000 | 366 | 1,739,255 | 1,440,518 | 1,182,071 | 84.3% | 69.8% | 57.3% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1999 | 365 | 1,756,101 | 1,652,504 | 1,579,929 | 85.1% | 80.1% | 76.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1998 | 365 | 1,985,862 | 1,800,370 | 1,581,123 | 96.2% | 87.2% | 76.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1997 | 365 | 1,926,636 | 1,754,736 | 1,654,155 | 93.4% | 85.0% | 80.2% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1996 | 366 | 2,045,290 | 1,819,316 | 1,634,100 | 99.1% | 88.2% | 79.2% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1995 | 365 | 2,041,300 | 1,998,308 | 1,931,900 | 98.9% | 96.8% | 93.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1994 | 365 | 2,049,300 | 1,994,275 | 1,909,300 | 99.3% | 96.6% | 92.5% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1993 | 365 | 2,019,200 | 1,881,804 | 1,765,200 | 97.8% | 91.2% | 85.5% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1992 | 366 | 2,018,100 | 1,834,644 | 1,715,200 | 97.8% | 88.9% | 83.1% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1991 | 365 | 1,713,900 | 1,504,381 | 1,370,400 | 83.0% | 72.9% | 66.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1990 | 365 | 1,738,600 | 1,471,639 | 1,249,100 | 84.2% | 71.3% | 60.5% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1989 | 365 | 2,040,200 | 1,827,713 | 1,639,000 | 98.9% | 88.6% | 79.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1988 | 366 | 2,099,200 | 2,025,454 | 1,911,100 | 99.6% | 96.1% | 90.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1987 | 365 | 2,095,600 | 2,039,755 | 1,954,600 | 99.4% | 96.7% | 92.7% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1986 | 365 | 2,118,100 | 2,068,132 | 1,959,900 | 100.5% | 98.1% | 93.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1985 | 365 | 2,013,800 | 1,838,981 | 1,601,300 | 95.5% | 87.2% | 76.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1984 | 366 | 1,610,500 | 1,444,614 | 1,300,800 | 76.4% | 68.5% | 61.7% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1983 | 365 | 1,359,100 | 1,148,501 | 918,300 | 64.5% | 54.5% | 43.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1982 | 365 | 916,700 | 797,196 | 725,200 | 43.5% | 37.8% | 34.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1981 | 365 | 1,217,400 | 944,741 | 725,300 | 57.7% | 44.8% | 34.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1980 | 366 | 1,291,600 | 1,100,940 | 920,700 | 61.3% | 52.2% | 43.7% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1979 | 365 | 943,500 | 596,449 | 184,100 | 44.8% | 28.3% | 8.7% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1978 | 365 | 288,800 | 184,870 | 90,800 | 13.7% | 8.8% | 4.3% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1977 | 365 | 356,000 | 231,173 | 119,300 | 16.9% | 11.0% | 5.7% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1976 | 366 | 727,700 | 472,559 | 285,700 | 34.5% | 22.4% | 13.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1975 | 365 | 617,200 | 453,898 | 365,600 | 29.3% | 21.5% | 17.3% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1974 | 365 | 866,000 | 541,858 | 315,700 | 41.1% | 25.7% | 15.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1973 | 365 | 794,200 | 561,054 | 303,600 | 37.2% | 26.3% | 14.2% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1972 | 366 | 301,600 | 175,084 | 53,200 | 14.1% | 8.2% | 2.5% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1971 | 365 | 380,000 | 192,416 | 30,600 | 17.8% | 9.0% | 1.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1970 | 365 | 544,200 | 361,828 | 167,400 | 25.5% | 16.9% | 7.8% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1969 | 365 | 528,200 | 375,535 | 238,500 | 24.0% | 17.1% | 10.8% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1968 | 366 | 343,500 | 246,622 | 135,700 | 15.6% | 11.2% | 6.2% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1967 | 365 | 366,800 | 229,284 | 122,900 | 16.7% | 10.4% | 5.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1966 | 365 | 573,200 | 390,949 | 258,400 | 26.0% | 17.8% | 11.7% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1965 | 365 | 517,200 | 269,696 | 88,200 | 23.5% | 12.3% | 4.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1964 | 366 | 168,600 | 104,578 | 42,100 | 7.7% | 4.8% | 1.9% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1963 | 365 | 432,800 | 229,577 | 66,500 | 19.7% | 10.4% | 3.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1962 | 365 | 460,900 | 331,118 | 219,300 | 20.9% | 15.0% | 10.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1961 | 365 | 452,200 | 311,394 | 183,800 | 20.5% | 14.2% | 8.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1960 | 366 | 595,400 | 501,629 | 384,700 | 27.1% | 22.8% | 17.5% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1959 | 365 | 988,800 | 729,530 | 516,100 | 44.9% | 33.2% | 23.5% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1958 | 365 | 1,216,700 | 924,487 | 690,100 | 55.3% | 42.0% | 31.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1957 | 365 | 776,100 | 325,503 | 33,100 | 35.3% | 14.8% | 1.5% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1956 | 366 | 211,800 | 101,669 | 22,800 | 9.6% | 4.6% | 1.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1955 | 365 | 160,800 | 120,369 | 62,200 | 7.2% | 5.4% | 2.8% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1954 | 365 | 173,700 | 85,498 | 9,900 | 7.8% | 3.9% | 0.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1953 | 365 | 378,100 | 198,325 | 87,600 | 17.0% | 8.9% | 3.9% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1952 | 366 | 423,200 | 240,648 | 16,300 | 19.1% | 10.8% | 0.7% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1951 | 365 | 330,100 | 134,984 | 17,600 | 14.9% | 6.1% | 0.8% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1950 | 365 | 667,800 | 477,404 | 322,700 | 30.1% | 21.5% | 14.5% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1949 | 365 | 795,400 | 621,410 | 491,600 | 35.8% | 28.0% | 22.2% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1948 | 366 | 762,300 | 517,055 | 374,700 | 34.4% | 23.3% | 16.9% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1947 | 365 | 576,100 | 420,598 | 298,600 | 26.0% | 19.0% | 13.5% | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supportednot used for "this date in other years" |
| 1946 | 365 | 1,129,100 | 826,061 | 539,800 | 50.9% | 37.2% | 24.3% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1945 | 365 | 1,519,700 | 1,299,343 | 1,130,100 | 68.5% | 58.6% | 50.9% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1944 | 366 | 1,522,400 | 1,321,866 | 1,130,100 | 68.6% | 59.6% | 50.9% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1943 | 365 | 1,778,900 | 1,541,757 | 1,250,600 | 80.2% | 69.5% | 56.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1942 | 365 | 2,302,800 | 1,981,062 | 1,780,500 | 103.8% | 89.3% | 80.2% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1941 | 365 | 1,993,300 | 1,349,910 | 484,200 | 89.8% | 60.8% | 21.8% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1940 | 366 | 900,600 | 641,241 | 418,500 | 40.6% | 28.9% | 18.9% | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1939 | 365 | 1,361,000 | 1,069,308 | 776,300 | 61.3% | 48.2% | 35.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1938 | 365 | 1,330,900 | 1,212,125 | 1,079,200 | 60.0% | 54.6% | 48.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1937 | 365 | 1,418,000 | 1,068,638 | 670,300 | 63.9% | 48.2% | 30.2% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1936 | 366 | 881,400 | 689,241 | 533,400 | 39.7% | 31.1% | 24.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1935 | 365 | 676,500 | 558,370 | 421,600 | 30.5% | 25.2% | 19.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1934 | 365 | 1,168,026 | 791,850 | 492,171 | 49.0% | 33.2% | 20.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1933 | 365 | 1,437,007 | 1,262,925 | 1,102,084 | 60.3% | 53.0% | 46.2% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1932 | 366 | 1,629,246 | 1,301,345 | 923,976 | 68.4% | 54.6% | 38.8% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1931 | 365 | 1,338,892 | 1,087,642 | 820,635 | 56.2% | 45.6% | 34.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1930 | 365 | 1,629,246 | 1,455,599 | 1,243,491 | 68.4% | 61.1% | 52.2% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1929 | 365 | 1,541,233 | 1,140,351 | 895,571 | 64.7% | 47.8% | 37.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1928 | 366 | 1,468,817 | 1,233,447 | 969,428 | 61.6% | 51.7% | 40.7% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1927 | 365 | 1,383,988 | 1,223,207 | 1,080,814 | 58.1% | 51.3% | 45.3% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1926 | 365 | 1,442,307 | 1,144,440 | 984,580 | 60.5% | 48.0% | 41.3% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1925 | 365 | 1,670,980 | 1,323,672 | 950,792 | 63.2% | 50.1% | 36.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1924 | 366 | 2,215,676 | 1,796,808 | 1,564,653 | 83.8% | 68.0% | 59.2% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1923 | 365 | 1,561,779 | 1,437,599 | 1,321,406 | 59.1% | 54.4% | 50.0% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1922 | 365 | 1,993,613 | 1,731,705 | 1,441,084 | 75.4% | 65.5% | 54.5% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1921 | 365 | 2,098,302 | 1,851,969 | 1,622,127 | 79.4% | 70.1% | 61.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1920 | 366 | 2,147,029 | 1,572,985 | 1,034,998 | 81.2% | 59.5% | 39.2% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1919 | 365 | 1,137,970 | 754,759 | 222,813 | 43.1% | 28.6% | 8.4% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1918 | 336 | 572,553 | 373,496 | 170,904 | 21.7% | 14.1% | 6.5% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1917 | 315 | 1,034,157 | 753,769 | 517,978 | 39.1% | 28.5% | 19.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1916 | 352 | 959,113 | 701,526 | 358,794 | 36.3% | 26.5% | 13.6% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1915 | 286 | 518,583 | 369,808 | 47,515 | 19.6% | 14.0% | 1.8% | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
About this reservoir
New Mexico's largest reservoir and the storage for Reclamation's Rio Grande Project, which irrigates the Elephant Butte Irrigation District in New Mexico and El Paso County Water Improvement District No. 1 in Texas and supplies Mexico's treaty delivery. It is also where New Mexico's Rio Grande Compact deliveries to Texas are measured.
How to use these numbers
- The lower Rio Grande's water supply. Storage going into the irrigation season sets the Project allocation.
- Compact accounting. Reservoir storage and releases are the basis of New Mexico's delivery obligation to Texas. Low storage also triggers Compact Article VII limits on upstream storage.
Read before quoting a number
- Evaporation from the reservoir is large, often a hundred thousand acre-feet or more a year, and is reported separately by Reclamation.
The dam
| Dam | Elephant Butte Dam |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bureau of Reclamation (Federal) |
| Operated with | Bureau of Reclamation |
| Type | Concrete, Gravity |
| Purposes, per the dam registry | Flood Risk Reduction, Irrigation, Recreation, Hydroelectric |
| Completed | 1916 |
| Height | 306 feet |
| Hazard class | High |
| Registry capacity | 2,593,255 acre-feet at most, 2,065,010 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 (USBR, effective 2019-11-01), 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 2,558 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full poolused as 100% | 4,407 | 2,010,900 | detected from the record: the count of days at or above each elevation falls thirteenfold between 4,406 and 4,407 ft |
Capacity over time (15 tables in force)
| Period | Capacity (acre-feet) | How well supported |
|---|---|---|
| 1915-03-21 to 1925-11-291915-1925 table | 2,643,179 | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1925-11-30 to 1934-12-301925-1934 table | 2,383,496 | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1934-12-31 to 1939-12-301934-1939 table | 2,219,192 | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1939-12-31 to 1946-12-301939-1946 table | 2,219,192 | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1946-12-31 to 1950-12-301946-1950 table | 2,219,192 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 1950-12-31 to 1955-12-301950-1955 table | 2,219,192 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 1955-12-31 to 1960-12-301955-1960 table | 2,200,621 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 1960-12-31 to 1969-12-301960-1969 table | 2,200,621 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 1969-12-31 to 1973-12-301969-1973 table | 2,135,727 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 1973-12-31 to 1980-12-301973-1980 table | 2,108,337 | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1980-12-31 to 1988-12-301980-1988 table | 2,108,337 | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 1988-12-31 to 2000-12-301988-2000 table | 2,063,815 | Capacity recovered from the record, well supported |
| 2000-12-31 to 2008-12-302000-2008 table | 2,020,284 | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 2008-12-31 to 2019-12-302008-2019 table | 2,011,387 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 2019-12-31 to 2026-11-02current table | 2,010,900 | The operator's current table fits the record |
Rivers
Data and sources
Record from 1915 (112 years with readings), through Nov 2, 2026. Where several agencies report the same reservoir, we take each day's value from the first in this list that has one:
- Bureau of Reclamation HydroData: 40,677 days
Year by year (CSV) · Last 365 days (CSV)
Credit: Bureau of Reclamation HydroData; National Inventory of Dams (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers). Capacity analysis by New Mexico Water. Data accessed November 4, 2026.