Point layer · Water
Reservoir storage levels across the western US
Storage capacity and current levels across western reservoirs.
Storage converts a variable river into a dependable supply, which makes reservoir storage levels the clearest leading indicator of curtailment there is. A basin can look healthy on annual flow while its reservoirs sit at a third of capacity — exactly the condition where junior rights get shut off first.
- Source
- USBR and state water agencies
- Refresh
- Daily
- Geometry
- Point
- Included from
- Water
Why Reservoirs matters
Storage converts a variable river into a dependable supply, and its level is the single clearest leading indicator of curtailment. A basin can look healthy on annual flow while its reservoirs sit at a third of capacity — which is exactly the condition under which junior rights get shut off first.
Questions Reservoirs answers
- How much carryover storage backs the supply my project depends on?
- Which reservoirs in this basin are drawn down heading into next season?
- Is a curtailment likely if next winter is dry again?
What is in the Reservoirs data
Coverage: Major federal and state reservoirs across the western US. Source dataset: Reservoir storage and capacity reporting.
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Total capacity | Design storage capacity in acre-feet. |
| Current storage | Most recent reported storage volume. |
| Percent of capacity | Storage as a share of design capacity — the number that drives curtailment decisions. |
| Operator | Federal or state entity responsible for operations and releases. |
How we serve Reservoirs
Storage status renders on an explicit ramp with a declared unknown state. This layer once shipped with a color match that had no default, so a reservoir with no reading rendered identically to one that was critically depleted; the catalog and the map now both treat missing storage as its own desaturated category.
Reservoir storage levels — source, refresh and coverage
- Steward
- USBR and state water agencies
- Dataset
- Reservoir storage and capacity reporting
- Refresh cadence
- Daily
- Coverage
- Major federal and state reservoirs across the western US
- Records
- 61 rows
- Geometry
- Point
- Included from
- Water plan
Who uses Reservoirs
Water Rights Investing
Price seniority, spot the mismatch between paper water and wet water, and find positions before they are listed.
Agriculture & Ranching
Know what your water is worth, how safe it is this year, and what your neighbors hold.
Government & Basin Management
A statewide inventory, live supply monitoring, and a public-facing record without building the platform.
Data Centers & AI Infrastructure
Power, water, fiber and permitting risk for every candidate site — before you send anyone to look at it.
Read Reservoirs alongside
Stream Gauges
Live USGS streamflow — what is physically in the river right now.
SNOTEL Snowpack
NRCS snow telemetry — next year's water supply, six months early.
Drought Monitor
US Drought Monitor severity by county — the year's supply risk, mapped.
Watershed Basins
USGS hydrologic unit boundaries — the unit water is actually managed in.
Terms used on this page
See Reservoirs on the map
This layer is included from Water upward, alongside every other layer in the Water coverage.