Leech Lake Water Level
Leech Lake is at 1,294.18 ft today (Oct 31), 0.72 ft below its 1,294.9 ft full pool, down 0.03 ft this week.
Minnesota · Mississippi River headwaters
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Water level history
About Leech Lake
Leech Lake is a reservoir on the Mississippi River headwaters in Minnesota, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It's the third-largest lake wholly inside Minnesota. Its full summer pool sits at 1294.9 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Leech Lake's water level
Leech Lake is a natural lake that the federal government turned into a reservoir. The Corps of Engineers started a dam at its outlet on the Leech Lake River in 1882 and began operating it in 1884, the second structure in the Mississippi Headwaters reservoir system. Congress had funded the system in 1880 to store water and steady the river for navigation downstream. The site is the widest in the system, with riverbanks about 3,500 feet apart, and the present 294 foot control structure has 25 six foot sluiceways, five fitted with slide gates, plus a 12 foot log sluice. Concrete replaced the original timber abutments and bays between 1900 and 1903. The dam raised the lake about two feet, from roughly 106,000 acres to about 112,000 acres, and the town that grew up beside it took the name Federal Dam.
Because the dam controls the only outlet, the level here is set by a Corps operating plan rather than by rainfall alone. The maximum allowable range runs from 1,292.70 to 1,297.94 feet, which holds about 689,000 acre feet; the normal operating range tops out at 1,295.70 feet. The operating plan from the early 1960s aimed for 1,294.5 to 1,294.9 feet through summer and September, then a drawdown to 1,293.2 feet by March 1 to make room for snowmelt. Today the St. Paul District sets winter drawdowns from snow water content, ice and frost depth, and tries to reach the summer band before the fishing opener and hold it past Labor Day. In drought the release is cut: the current plan's minimum outflow is 120 cubic feet per second, dropping to 60 once the lake falls below 1,292.70 feet.
With 111,527 acres, Leech is the third largest lake lying entirely inside Minnesota, behind Red Lake and Mille Lacs. Most of it sits within the Leech Lake Reservation, and the reservoir's history is tied to the Ojibwe whose land it flooded. The government's first offer of $15,466.90 was rejected, negotiations dragged from 1881 to 1886, and a final settlement of $3,390,288 came only in 1985. On October 5, 1898, Pillager Ojibwe and soldiers of the 3rd U.S. Infantry fought at Sugar Point on the lake after the attempted arrest of Bugonaygeshig; six soldiers died. The fishery is managed mainly for walleye. A collapse in the early 2000s, blamed on heavy harvest and cormorant predation, led to slot limits, fry stocking and cormorant control, and gill net catches have run above the long term average since 2007.
Leech Lake — frequently asked
What is Leech Lake's full pool?
Lakelvl uses 1,294.9 feet as full pool, which matches the top of the Corps' long standing summer target of 1,294.5 to 1,294.9 feet. The dam can legally hold the lake anywhere between 1,292.70 and 1,297.94 feet, and the normal operating range runs up to 1,295.70 feet, so readings a little above full pool after a wet spring are not unusual.
Why is Leech Lake drawn down every winter?
The Corps lowers Leech through fall and winter to leave storage for spring runoff. The early 1960s plan called for about 1,293.2 feet by March 1. The actual target each year depends on snow water content, precipitation, ice thickness and frost depth, so a heavy snowpack means a deeper drawdown and a light winter a shallower one.
What is Leech Lake's record high level?
USGS records going back to April 1884 put the highest level at 1,297.88 feet on June 30, 1916, when the reservoir held about 734,300 acre feet. That is nearly three feet above today's summer target and essentially at the top of the 1,297.94 foot maximum allowed range. Recent highs, such as 1,295.45 feet in 2022, have stayed well below it.
What is Leech Lake's record low level?
The lowest level in the USGS period of record is 1,292.69 feet, reached on December 8 and again December 24, 1976, when contents fell to about 51,380 acre feet. That is right at the 1,292.70 foot floor of the operating range, the point where the Corps cuts minimum releases from 120 to 60 cubic feet per second to protect the lake.
Who controls the water level on Leech Lake?
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, operates the dam at Federal Dam as one of six Mississippi Headwaters reservoirs. Its plan comes from the Headwaters Reservoir Operating Plan Evaluation, approved in January 2010, which weighed tribal trust obligations alongside flood risk, water quality, recreation and navigation. Changes to minimum flows now go through the water control manual rather than federal regulation.
Is Leech Lake a good walleye lake?
Walleye is the main focus of the DNR's management plan. After weak year classes in 2000 to 2004 from heavy harvest and cormorants, the DNR imposed an 18 to 26 inch slot in 2005, stocked fry, and supported Leech Lake Band cormorant control. The population recovered, and in 2019 the slot gave way to a four fish limit with only one over 20 inches.
How big and deep is Leech Lake?
The DNR lists it at 111,527 acres, third among lakes entirely within Minnesota. Its deepest water is near 150 feet, but nearly 80 percent of the lake is under 35 feet deep and about 58,000 acres are 15 feet or shallower. That broad shallow area is why a foot of drawdown changes shorelines and channel access so noticeably.
Other lakes near Leech Lake
See current levels for all 6 Minnesota lakes and reservoirs →
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