Santa Rosa Lake
Santa Rosa Lake held 45,250 acre-feet on Nov 2, 2026, 17.9% of its conservation pool: normal for the date (the middle of past years is 19.9%).
A flood-control dam with a conservation or recreation pool beneath a much larger flood pool. On Pecos River. Pecos basin.
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 | 306 | 75,594 | 44,866 | 3,563 | 29.8% | 17.7% | 1.4% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2025 | 365 | 77,824 | 58,166 | 40,844 | 30.7% | 22.9% | 16.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2024 | 366 | 41,409 | 16,900 | 3,117 | 16.3% | 6.7% | 1.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2023 | 365 | 79,793 | 29,619 | 12,833 | 31.5% | 11.7% | 5.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2022 | 365 | 23,990 | 15,251 | 2,768 | 9.5% | 6.0% | 1.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2021 | 365 | 19,925 | 10,144 | 3,482 | 7.9% | 4.0% | 1.4% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2020 | 366 | 42,647 | 16,167 | 3,576 | 16.8% | 6.4% | 1.4% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2019 | 365 | 86,891 | 48,404 | 25,812 | 34.3% | 19.1% | 10.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2018 | 365 | 94,720 | 74,155 | 51,845 | 37.4% | 29.3% | 20.5% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2017 | 365 | 96,537 | 63,367 | 34,452 | 38.1% | 25.0% | 13.6% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2016 | 366 | 106,561 | 81,728 | 55,364 | 40.0% | 30.7% | 20.8% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2015 | 365 | 108,400 | 88,417 | 69,124 | 40.7% | 33.2% | 25.9% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2014 | 365 | 98,581 | 76,334 | 47,096 | 37.0% | 28.6% | 17.7% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2013 | 365 | 103,360 | 33,226 | 2,582 | 38.8% | 12.5% | 1.0% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2012 | 366 | 17,074 | 8,002 | 4,454 | 6.4% | 3.0% | 1.7% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2011 | 365 | 42,992 | 19,916 | 8,462 | 16.1% | 7.5% | 3.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2010 | 365 | 67,526 | 44,309 | 20,826 | 25.3% | 16.6% | 7.8% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2009 | 365 | 47,074 | 29,871 | 20,442 | 17.7% | 11.2% | 7.7% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2008 | 366 | 58,349 | 35,828 | 23,722 | 21.9% | 13.4% | 8.9% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2007 | 365 | 94,391 | 67,859 | 49,724 | 35.4% | 25.5% | 18.7% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2006 | 365 | 83,592 | 65,171 | 27,310 | 31.4% | 24.5% | 10.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2005 | 365 | 98,026 | 76,521 | 30,248 | 36.8% | 28.7% | 11.3% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2004 | 366 | 57,125 | 29,538 | 1,611 | 21.4% | 11.1% | 0.6% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2003 | 365 | 21,475 | 8,947 | 2,966 | 8.1% | 3.4% | 1.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2002 | 365 | 17,156 | 9,083 | 3,261 | 6.4% | 3.4% | 1.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2001 | 365 | 37,998 | 18,569 | 3,350 | 14.3% | 7.0% | 1.3% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 2000 | 366 | 98,950 | 49,557 | 2,805 | 37.1% | 18.6% | 1.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1999 | 365 | 103,780 | 80,190 | 49,420 | 38.9% | 30.1% | 18.5% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1998 | 365 | 96,960 | 64,597 | 26,670 | 36.4% | 24.2% | 10.0% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1997 | 365 | 99,137 | 69,827 | 32,285 | 37.2% | 26.2% | 12.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1996 | 366 | 68,411 | 43,213 | 3,599 | 25.7% | 16.2% | 1.4% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1995 | 365 | 101,755 | 80,182 | 59,124 | 38.2% | 30.1% | 22.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1994 | 365 | 101,906 | 88,567 | 71,905 | 38.2% | 33.2% | 27.0% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1993 | 365 | 101,529 | 92,503 | 80,771 | 38.1% | 34.7% | 30.3% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1992 | 366 | 99,181 | 95,270 | 89,871 | 37.2% | 35.7% | 33.7% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1991 | 365 | 98,629 | 53,057 | 2,078 | 37.0% | 19.9% | 0.8% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1990 | 365 | 35,147 | 21,664 | 6,250 | 13.2% | 8.1% | 2.3% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1989 | 365 | 87,400 | 39,553 | 6,520 | 32.8% | 14.8% | 2.4% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1988 | 366 | 114,897 | 100,009 | 78,822 | 43.1% | 37.5% | 29.6% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1987 | 365 | 120,481 | 110,685 | 106,056 | 45.2% | 41.5% | 39.8% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1986 | 365 | 108,629 | 104,144 | 77,480 | 40.8% | 39.1% | 29.1% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1985 | 365 | 108,010 | 77,512 | 23,150 | 40.5% | 29.1% | 8.7% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1984 | 366 | 28,920 | 16,253 | 2,620 | 10.9% | 6.1% | 1.0% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1983 | 365 | 79,450 | 33,542 | 6,930 | 29.8% | 12.6% | 2.6% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1982 | 365 | 54,540 | 34,788 | 16,400 | 20.5% | 13.1% | 6.2% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1981 | 365 | 38,170 | 15,129 | 0 | 14.3% | 5.7% | 0.0% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
| 1980 | 366 | 28,230 | 4,374 | 0 | 10.6% | 1.6% | 0.0% | Capacity published by the operator for that year |
About this reservoir
An Army Corps flood and sediment control dam on the Pecos, completed in 1979. Besides flood control it holds irrigation water for the Carlsbad Project downstream, up to an entitlement the Corps recalculates each year, which is why its conservation pool rarely approaches the top.
How to use these numbers
- Upper Pecos runoff. Inflow is the Pecos delivered out of the Sangre de Cristo and the upper basin.
- Carlsbad Project storage upstream. Storage below the entitlement is irrigation water held for release to Sumner and Brantley and on to Carlsbad.
- Flood use. Storage above the top of conservation is flood water held back.
Read before quoting a number
- The Corps publishes Santa Rosa's conservation and flood pool elevations in NGVD29 but its capacity table and its other levels in NAVD88. Those two pools are shifted by +2.11 ft to match, which reproduces the published conservation-pool storage exactly.
- The conservation pool is a physical pool, but the water that may actually be kept there is capped by the annual entitlement, currently about 103,000 acre-feet. Percentages against the full conservation pool will read low by design.
The dam
| Dam | Santa Rosa Dam |
|---|---|
| Owner | USACE - Albuquerque District (Federal) |
| Operated with | US Army Corps of Engineers |
| Type | Rockfill, Earth |
| Purposes, per the dam registry | Flood Risk Reduction, Other, Irrigation, Recreation |
| Completed | 1979 |
| Height | 214 feet |
| Hazard class | High |
| Registry capacity | 717,000 acre-feet at most, 200,000 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 3,593 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% | 4,778.6 | 253,470 | CWMS level Santa Rosa.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Conservation dated 2017-01-01, shifted +2.11 ft to the table datumTop of Conservation in NGVD29 elevation as built |
| Top of flood pool | 4,799.1 | 432,165 | CWMS level Santa Rosa.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Flood dated 2017-01-01, shifted +2.11 ft to the table datumTop of Flood; converted to 88 (-2.11 to convert to NGVD29) |
| Top of dam | 4,826.1 | 801,174 | CWMS level Santa Rosa.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Dam dated 2017-01-01Top of Dam Elevaion in NAVD88 |
| Top of entitlement pool | 4,750.2 | 102,908 | CWMS level Santa Rosa.Elev.Inst.0.Top of Entitlement dated 2025-01-01Top of Entitlement is calculated annually based on EAC survey 2017, actual storage for this elevaiton is 102,908 |
Capacity over time (6 tables in force)
| Period | Capacity (acre-feet) | How well supported |
|---|---|---|
| 1982-10-01 to 1983-12-311982-1983 table | 282,801 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 1984-01-01 to 1998-12-311984-1998 table | 282,801 | Capacity recovered from the record, moderately supported |
| 1999-01-01 to 2002-12-311999-2002 table | 273,202 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 2003-01-01 to 2005-12-312003-2005 table | 273,189 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 2006-01-01 to 2016-12-312006-2016 table | 273,189 | Capacity recovered from the record, weakly supported |
| 2017-01-01 to 2026-11-02current table | 253,470 | The operator's current table fits the record |
Rivers
Data and sources
Record from 1980 (47 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: 17,108 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.