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 ($99/mo)
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
- 57 rows
- Geometry
- Point
- Included from
- Water ($99/mo/mo)
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 ($99/mo) upward, alongside every other layer in the Water coverage.