Lake Ashtabula Water Level
Lake Ashtabula is at 1,265.32 ft today (Oct 31), 0.88 ft below its 1,266.2 ft full pool, down 0.24 ft this week.
North Dakota · Sheyenne River
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Water level history
About Lake Ashtabula
Lake Ashtabula is a reservoir on the Sheyenne River in North Dakota, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 1266.2 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Lake Ashtabula's water level
Baldhill Dam holds back the Sheyenne River about 16.5 river miles above Valley City, the main flood damage center downstream. Congress authorized it under the 1944 Flood Control Act to stabilize flows on the Sheyenne; the USGS gauge record shows storage beginning on 30 July 1949, and the Corps says the dam went into emergency service in 1950 and was finished in 1951. The embankment is rolled earthfill about 1,650 feet long and 61 feet high at the old river channel. The main spillway crest sits at 1,252 feet behind three tainter gates, each 40 feet wide and 15 feet tall. At normal pool of about 1,266 feet the lake runs 27 miles up the valley and holds roughly 69,000 acre-feet of usable storage. Much of that water is spoken for. Valley City, Lisbon, West Fargo, Fargo and Grand Forks hold permits for about 64,000 acre-feet as a drought backup, and Fargo alone owns 52 percent of the stored water rights, earned by helping pay for the dam. Fargo called on that water in the dry years of 1976, 1984 and 1988.
The level follows a yearly cycle. In fall the Corps starts lowering the lake to make room for spring snowmelt, normally from October through February, and it can go deeper after a heavy snow winter. Since 2000 the USGS record shows the lake bottoming out in March most years, often between about 1,257 and 1,263 feet. That storage used to be thin: the lake could be drawn down as much as nine feet for about 39,000 acre-feet of spring flood room and had no summer flood room at all. A flood pool raise sponsored by the Sheyenne River Joint Water Resource District, which the Corps lists as a 2004 modification, brought that to 70,000 acre-feet in spring and 31,000 in summer. A separate dam safety project added an 880 foot ungated auxiliary spillway across the embankment with its crest at 1,271 feet, plus a five foot parapet wall. In summer the lake also carries Devils Lake water, pumped into the upper Sheyenne through the West End outlet since 2005 and the East End outlet since 2012, up to 600 cubic feet per second combined.
Spring refill can be startlingly fast. In 2011 the daily USGS record has the lake at 1,256.45 feet on 5 April and 1,270.46 feet on 25 April, a fourteen foot rise in twenty days. In 2009 it climbed from 1,257.14 feet in late March to 1,269.46 feet by 26 April. The other big year was 2004, when the lake reached 1,270.51 feet on 7 April, the highest in the record up to then. For anglers, North Dakota Game and Fish rates walleye, northern pike and smallmouth bass as abundant with a good number of larger fish, and yellow perch, black crappie, white bass and bluegill as moderately abundant; muskellunge are present too. Zebra mussels are established, so boats need draining and cleaning on the way out. Public ramps sit at Karnack Bridge, Sibley Crossing, both sides of Ashtabula Crossing, Eggerts Landing, Sundstroms Landing and the Mel Rieman area. The department's 2020 to 2021 contour survey mapped 5,178 acres and a maximum depth of 42.8 feet at full pool.
Lake Ashtabula — frequently asked
What is Lake Ashtabula's full pool elevation?
Normal summer pool is about 1,266 feet. USGS and Corps engineering documents put it at 1,266.0 feet on the old NGVD 1929 datum, with roughly 69,000 acre-feet of usable storage between the outlet invert at 1,238 feet and that level. North Dakota Game and Fish lists full pool as 1,267.5 feet on the newer NAVD 1988 datum, so the number you see depends on which datum a gauge uses.
What is the highest Lake Ashtabula has ever been?
The top marks in the USGS record are two April floods. On 7 April 2004 the lake reached 1,270.51 feet, the highest in the record to that point. In 2011 it reached a daily average of 1,270.46 feet on 25 April. Both are more than four feet above normal pool. More recent peaks have been lower, including about 1,269.2 feet in April 2017 and about 1,268.9 feet in May 2022. The gauge on this page only covers recent years, so its high of about 1,269.1 feet from 2022 is a recent mark rather than the record.
Why is Lake Ashtabula lower in winter?
The Corps draws the lake down each fall and winter to make room for spring runoff from the Sheyenne basin. The drawdown normally runs from October through February and can be extended when the snowpack is heavy. In 2021 drought pushed the start back a month, and the lake was then lowered about 3.5 feet with releases of 30 to 150 cubic feet per second.
When does Lake Ashtabula refill?
Mostly in April, when snowmelt arrives. The lake usually hits its low point in March and climbs back toward 1,266 feet through spring. In flood years the rise is steep: in 2011 the lake went from 1,256.45 feet on 5 April to 1,270.46 feet on 25 April. In dry springs it can take until early summer to reach normal pool.
Does Devils Lake water flow into Lake Ashtabula?
Yes. The state pumps Devils Lake water into the upper Sheyenne through two outlets, the West End outlet in service since 2005 and rated at 250 cubic feet per second and the East End outlet completed in 2012 and rated at 350. They run in the warm months after the spring peak passes, and that water reaches Lake Ashtabula on its way downstream. The Corps adjusts Baldhill releases around the outlets' seasonal shutdown each fall.
Who uses the water stored in Lake Ashtabula?
Five cities hold permits for stored water: Valley City, Lisbon, West Fargo, Fargo and Grand Forks, together about 64,000 acre-feet. Fargo owns 52 percent of the stored water rights because it helped fund the dam, and it says the lake holds roughly two years of supply. During drought the Corps releases water down the Sheyenne for city intakes, as happened in 1976, 1984 and 1988.
What fish are in Lake Ashtabula?
North Dakota Game and Fish lists walleye, northern pike and smallmouth bass as abundant, with a good share of larger fish. Yellow perch, black crappie, white bass and bluegill are moderately abundant, and muskellunge, black bullhead and brown bullhead are also present. Zebra mussels have been found in the lake, so drain and clean boats before moving to other water.
Other lakes near Lake Ashtabula
See current levels for all 6 North Dakota lakes and reservoirs →
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