Jemez Canyon Reservoir
Jemez Canyon Reservoir held 0 acre-feet on Nov 2, 2026: it is empty, as a dry dam normally is.
A dry flood-control dam: no permanent pool, and water only while a flood is held back. On Jemez River, above its confluence with the Rio Grande. Rio Grande basin.
These dams are empty by design. They store water only while holding back a flood and release it afterwards, so zero is normal and the news is when they are not zero.
Last 365 days
Water held, in acre-feet.
Show the data as a table
Year by year
The most, average and least water held in each calendar year, in acre-feet. The latest year is partial.
- Most
- Average
- Least
Show the data as a table
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 | Capacity figure |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 306 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2025 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2024 | 366 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2023 | 365 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2022 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2021 | 365 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2020 | 366 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2019 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2018 | 364 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2017 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2016 | 366 | 128 | 1 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2015 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2014 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2013 | 365 | 3,500 | 53 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2012 | 366 | 127 | 1 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2011 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2010 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2009 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2008 | 366 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2007 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2006 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2005 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2004 | 366 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2003 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2002 | 365 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2001 | 365 | 16,184 | 4,992 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2000 | 366 | 22,400 | 15,699 | 4,503 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1999 | 365 | 23,397 | 19,376 | 17,107 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1998 | 365 | 28,328 | 24,779 | 22,058 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1997 | 365 | 27,290 | 23,726 | 20,957 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1996 | 366 | 22,620 | 20,501 | 17,620 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1995 | 365 | 30,700 | 25,369 | 21,530 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1994 | 365 | 31,377 | 23,768 | 20,981 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1993 | 365 | 33,305 | 23,585 | 20,871 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1992 | 366 | 45,536 | 26,577 | 22,675 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1991 | 365 | 39,539 | 25,512 | 16,224 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1990 | 365 | 22,411 | 19,602 | 16,660 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1989 | 365 | 32,468 | 26,343 | 22,255 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1988 | 366 | 34,964 | 28,296 | 26,230 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1987 | 365 | 72,114 | 35,636 | 26,571 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1986 | 365 | 39,334 | 30,499 | 26,074 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1985 | 365 | 29,865 | 21,214 | 4,138 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1984 | 366 | 6,009 | 2,849 | 2,229 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1983 | 365 | 7,830 | 2,678 | 553 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1982 | 365 | 3,470 | 1,979 | 1,450 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1981 | 365 | 3,110 | 1,997 | 1,380 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1980 | 366 | 6,950 | 2,308 | 1,450 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1979 | 365 | 20,250 | 3,650 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1978 | 365 | 1,220 | 80 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1977 | 365 | 669 | 26 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1976 | 366 | 591 | 20 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1975 | 365 | 4,403 | 234 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1974 | 365 | 445 | 22 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1973 | 365 | 25,750 | 1,606 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1972 | 366 | 1,250 | 23 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1971 | 365 | 463 | 3 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1970 | 365 | 833 | 81 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1969 | 365 | 3,200 | 287 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1968 | 366 | 2,020 | 185 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1967 | 365 | 2,000 | 25 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1966 | 365 | 1,580 | 51 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1965 | 92 | 337 | 27 | 0 | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
About this reservoir
An Army Corps flood and sediment control dam on the lower Jemez River, completed in 1953. It no longer keeps a permanent pool; storage has been essentially zero outside of storm events for years, so any storage recorded is a flood being held.
How to use these numbers
- Storm and flash-flood events on the Jemez. Each year's peak storage and the number of days impounding are a record of monsoon and snowmelt floods from the Jemez Mountains, including post-fire runoff.
- Sediment from a fire-affected watershed. Capacity loss here reflects sediment from the Jemez, whose upper watershed has burned repeatedly.
Read before quoting a number
- Percent full is not meaningful for a dry dam. Use peak storage and days impounding.
- In earlier decades Jemez Canyon did hold a sediment pool, so early-record storage is not comparable with recent years.
The dam
| Dam | Jemez Canyon Dam |
|---|---|
| Owner | USACE - Albuquerque District (Federal) |
| Operated with | US Army Corps of Engineers |
| Type | Earth |
| Purposes, per the dam registry | Flood Risk Reduction, Other |
| Completed | 1953 |
| Height | 150 feet |
| Hazard class | High |
| Registry capacity | 264,700 acre-feet at most, 29,712 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 2019-01-01), 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 2,863 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 flood poolused as 100% | 5,232 | 99,334 | CWMS level Jemez.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Flood dated 1900-01-01 |
| Top of dam | 5,271.6 | 259,342 | CWMS level Jemez.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Dam dated 1900-01-01 |
Capacity over time (7 tables in force)
| Period | Capacity (acre-feet) | How well supported |
|---|---|---|
| 1974-12-31 to 1984-12-311974-1984 table | 106,170 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 1985-01-01 to 1992-12-311985-1992 table | 103,283 | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1993-01-01 to 1995-12-311993-1995 table | 103,283 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 1996-01-01 to 1998-12-311996-1998 table | 103,283 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 1999-01-01 to 2001-12-311999-2001 table | 99,334 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 2002-01-01 to 2018-12-302002-2018 table | 99,334 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 2019-01-01 to 2026-11-02current table | 99,334 | The operator's current table fits the record |
Rivers
Data and sources
Record from 1965 (62 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: 19,297 days
- U.S. Geological Survey NWIS: 3,015 days
Year by year (CSV) ยท Last 365 days (CSV)
Credit: Bureau of Reclamation HydroData; 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.