Amistad Reservoir Water Level
Amistad Reservoir is at 1,059.60 ft today (Oct 6), 57.40 ft below its 1,117 ft full pool, up 3.06 ft this week.
Texas · Rio Grande
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Water level history
About Amistad Reservoir
Amistad Reservoir is a reservoir on the Rio Grande in Texas, operated by International Boundary and Water Commission. It straddles the U.S.–Mexico border. Its full summer pool sits at 1117 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the Texas Water Development Board and update daily.
Understanding Amistad Reservoir's water level
Amistad is a reservoir owned by two countries. The dam crosses the Rio Grande about 12 river miles above Del Rio and Ciudad Acuna, one mile below the mouth of the Devils River, and the site was picked because it sits below both the Devils and the Pecos. The U.S. and Mexican sections of the International Boundary and Water Commission built it under the 1944 Water Treaty and still run it jointly. Conservation storage is split 56.2 percent to the United States and 43.8 percent to Mexico, the same ratio used to divide the $125 million construction bill. Conservation pool is 1,117 feet above sea level, flood storage runs up to 1,140.4 feet, and the roadway across the crest sits at 1,152.3. The level answers to rain over West Texas and northern Mexico: tropical storms have raised it 14 or 15 feet in under a week, while dry years draw it down slowly as water is released for farms and cities downstream. It has not been at conservation pool since April 2011.
The dam exists because of June 1954. Hurricane Alice moved up the Rio Grande Valley into Val Verde County and soaked the Lower Pecos country, and the Pecos crested on June 28 at 96.24 feet, carrying an estimated 948,000 cubic feet per second, while the Devils peaked the same day at 585,000. Congress authorized a joint dam in 1960, foundation work began in August 1963, water was impounded in 1968, and Presidents Richard Nixon and Gustavo Diaz Ordaz dedicated Amistad, Spanish for friendship, on September 8, 1969. The U.S. government bought 56,570 acres for the reservoir and moved 16.3 miles of U.S. 90 and 14.3 miles of Southern Pacific track. Goodenough Spring went under about 70 feet of water, and the Amistad gambusia, a small fish found nowhere else, was extinct by 1987. The reservoir also raised the flow of San Felipe Springs, which supplies Del Rio's drinking water. Each country later added its own powerhouse with two 33 megawatt units, the U.S. plant in 1980 to 1983 and Mexico's in 1981 to 1987.
The lake's high mark is 1,135.66 feet, set on September 22, 1974, more than 18 feet over conservation pool. Hurricane Alex came close in July 2010, when the lake climbed from about 1,115 feet on July 3 to 1,129.7 on July 6 and the dam began large flood releases toward Laredo. The low end has been rewritten three times in eleven years: 1,055.9 feet in May 2013, a new low in August 2022, and then 1,047.15 feet on July 17, 2024, about 70 feet below conservation pool, after a summer of extreme drought across West Texas, Chihuahua and Coahuila. In early June 2026 the lake fell back to within a fraction of a foot of that mark before summer rains lifted it about eight feet. For boaters, the numbers decide which ramps work. The Park Service maintains nine ramps, four of which only function near conservation pool, and at the 2024 low only Diablo East, the Rough Canyon low water ramp and the old Spur 406 and Spur 454 roadbeds were open. Falling water also exposes rock hazards and archeological sites that had been submerged since 1969.
Amistad Reservoir — frequently asked
What is Amistad Reservoir's full pool elevation?
Conservation pool, the level treated as full, is 1,117 feet above sea level. Flood storage extends to 1,140.4 feet, and the top of the dam is 1,152.3 feet. The Texas Water Development Board counts only the U.S. share of conservation storage, about 1.81 million acre-feet, when it reports percent full, so the figure you see for Amistad describes the American half of the lake rather than the whole reservoir.
What is the record high level at Lake Amistad?
1,135.66 feet on September 22, 1974, about 18.7 feet above conservation pool and the highest since the lake filled. The nearest challenger came in July 2010, when rain from Hurricane Alex pushed the lake up roughly 15 feet in three days to 1,129.7 feet on July 6. The dam began releases on July 5 that contributed to major flooding at Laredo before the water reached Falcon Reservoir.
What is the lowest Lake Amistad has ever been?
The National Park Service recorded 1,047.15 feet on July 17, 2024, the lowest since the reservoir was filled and about 70 feet below conservation pool. That broke the August 2022 record by more than five feet, and the 2022 mark had itself replaced the May 2013 low of about 1,055.9 feet. In early June 2026 the lake dropped to roughly 1,047.2 feet, essentially tying the record, before rising again.
Why is Lake Amistad so low?
The Rio Grande basin has had mostly below average rainfall for two decades, and the lake has not reached conservation pool since April 2011. In 2024 severe to extreme drought covered West Texas, Chihuahua and Coahuila while a heat dome pushed Del Rio to 112 degrees on August 21. Water keeps leaving for irrigation and cities downstream, and Mexico's deliveries under the 1944 treaty fell well behind during the 2020 to 2025 cycle.
Who owns the water in Amistad Reservoir?
Both countries. By treaty the United States holds 56.2 percent of conservation capacity and Mexico 43.8 percent, and the IBWC recalculates each country's share of the water actually in storage every two weeks. That share can shift: in April 2025 Mexico agreed to transfer 56,750 acre-feet of its stored water at Amistad to the U.S. to help cover a treaty shortfall. This is why Texas's percent full can change even when the lake level does not.
Can you reach Panther Cave when Lake Amistad is low?
Usually, but it takes longer. Panther Cave sits in Seminole Canyon, 8.5 river miles below the mouth of the Pecos, and is reached by boat, a dock and a 60 foot steel staircase. Its namesake is a red panther more than ten feet long painted in the Pecos River style. When the Pecos River ramp is closed by low water, the trip from Box Canyon is about 60 miles round trip instead of 14. Parida Cave's dock may be pulled at low levels.
How is the bass fishing at Lake Amistad?
Texas Parks and Wildlife rates largemouth bass as excellent, and they drew 86 percent of fishing effort in 2018, when anglers reported 260 bass between 7 and 10 pounds from January to June. Florida bass fingerlings are stocked every year. Biologists note that the big swings in level drive the bass population up and down, and in 2020 falling water and vanishing vegetation slowed growth. Smallmouth are best in the Devils River arm.
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