Eastman Lake Water Level
Eastman Lake is at 466.11 ft today (Oct 31), 120.89 ft below its 587 ft full pool, up 0.17 ft this week.
California · Chowchilla River
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Water level history
About Eastman Lake
Eastman Lake is a reservoir on the Chowchilla River in California, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 587 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Eastman Lake's water level
Eastman Lake is the irrigation reservoir for the Chowchilla Water District, and it behaves like one. Buchanan Dam, an earth and rockfill dam the Army Corps of Engineers completed across the Chowchilla River in 1975, began storing water in 1976 and first filled in 1978. The lake carries the name of H.V. Eastman (1891 to 1972), the district's longtime secretary-manager. Above the dam the river drains 235 square miles of Sierra foothills, and inflow comes mostly in winter and spring; by fall it is close to nothing. In summer the district draws the lake down for growers: in 2024 the pool peaked at 577.2 feet on 13 May, releases averaged about 350 cubic feet per second in June and 410 in July, and by 1 September the lake stood near 535 feet, some 42 feet lower. Deliveries ended on 1 September that year, outflow went to zero, and the lake sat nearly flat through December waiting for rain.
The 587-foot figure is the top of gross pool, 150,000 acre-feet, and it doubles as the top of the flood space. The Corps does not let the lake fill that high year round. Its flood control rule holds the top of conservation pool near 587 feet only from late spring through August. From 1 September it lowers that line about a third of a foot a day, to roughly 559 feet by the end of November, holds it there into late December, and then raises it again through winter and spring as conditions allow, reaching about 587 by mid May. Above 587 is surcharge space up to 608.5 feet, and the dam crest is at 613.5. Most years none of this comes into play, because the lake rarely fills. The 1991 to 2020 average storage peaks at about 85,000 acre-feet in May, near 545 feet, and bottoms out around 45,000 acre-feet in October and November, near 512 feet.
In dry years Eastman drains almost to its floor. The bottom 10,000 acre-feet, below 466 feet, is inactive pool, and the lake has dropped to that line repeatedly: 463.99 feet in December 1990, 463.78 in October 2021, and 463.68 on 29 November 2022, the lowest reading in daily records that begin in 1985. Through 2014 and 2015 it never rose above 473 feet. The recoveries can be just as abrupt. The storms of January 2023 pushed daily inflow to 8,441 cubic feet per second on 10 January, the lake rose 26 feet in two days, and the month ended at 558 feet after starting near 471. By 15 May 2023 it stood at 577.79. The highest daily reading since 1985 is 584.09 feet on 10 June 2011. Before the dam, the site was studied for Project Travois, a proposed 10 kiloton nuclear blast meant to excavate rock for construction. The idea was dropped and the dam was built conventionally. A monument on the entrance road marks the vanished copper town of Buchanan.
Eastman Lake — frequently asked
What is Eastman Lake's full pool elevation?
Gross pool is 587 feet, which holds 150,000 acre-feet and covers about 1,780 acres. That elevation is also the top of the flood control space, so the lake is only allowed to sit there from late spring through summer. In fall and early winter the Corps' flood rule caps conservation storage much lower, near 559 feet. Surcharge space extends to 608.5 feet, and the top of Buchanan Dam is 613.5 feet.
Why is Eastman Lake so low?
In October 2026 the lake is at about 466 feet and roughly 10,100 acre-feet, essentially the top of its inactive pool. This year's runoff was weak: the lake peaked at only 512.5 feet in mid May, then irrigation releases to the Chowchilla Water District drew it down over the summer. Outflow is now zero, and the level will stay near the bottom until winter storms bring inflow.
What is the lowest Eastman Lake has ever been?
The lowest daily reading in records going back to 1985 is 463.68 feet on 29 November 2022, about 9,060 acre-feet and a little more than two feet below the 466-foot top of the inactive pool. Close seconds came in October 2021 at 463.78 feet and December 1990 at 463.99 feet. Very low storage in 1976 and 1977 came while the new reservoir was still filling and is not comparable.
What is Eastman Lake's record high?
584.09 feet on 10 June 2011, with 145,460 acre-feet in storage, three feet shy of gross pool. That is the highest daily reading since records began in 1985. Earlier monthly storage figures reached a similar level, 145,635 acre-feet at the end of April 1979. Other years that came close include 1995 at 583.34 feet, 2006 at 582.95 and January 1997, when the lake climbed from 568.7 to 582.0 feet in five days. The gauge panel's Recent high of 577.79 feet comes from 2023 and covers only the last few years of readings.
How much does Eastman Lake rise and fall in a normal year?
Based on 1991 to 2020 averages, storage climbs from about 45,000 acre-feet in November to about 85,000 acre-feet in April and May, roughly 512 feet to 545 feet, a swing of more than 30 feet. Wet years swing far more. In 2024 the lake fell 42 feet between mid May and September as irrigation water went out, and in January 2023 it rose about 87 feet in a single month.
Is Eastman Lake still a trophy bass lake with a 22-inch limit?
For years Eastman had a special black bass rule of one fish, 22 inches minimum, intended to grow large fish. In 2022 the Department of Fish and Wildlife proposed returning it to statewide limits, saying the approach had not worked, especially during prolonged drought and very low reservoir levels. Eastman no longer appears in the special bass regulations, so statewide rules apply. The Corps lists largemouth bass, crappie, bluegill and catfish, with rainbow trout stocked in winter.
Why is the upper end of Eastman Lake closed part of the year?
Hydrilla was found in 1989, and the resulting quarantine closed the upstream river arm, about a fifth of the lake, to fishing for more than two decades. When the quarantine lifted, the Corps announced in 2013 that the area would open each year from 1 August through 30 November and stay closed from 1 December through 31 July because bald eagles have nested along that shoreline. The rest of the lake is open year round.
Other lakes near Eastman Lake
- Englebright LakeCA
- Don Pedro ReservoirCA
- Folsom LakeCA
- Camanche ReservoirCA
- Lake HavasuAZ/CA
- Boca ReservoirCA
See current levels for all 29 California lakes and reservoirs →
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