Milford Lake Water Level
Milford Lake is at 1,146.16 ft today (Oct 31), 1.76 ft above its 1,144.4 ft full pool, up 0.27 ft this week.
Kansas · Republican River
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Water level history
About Milford Lake
Milford Lake is a reservoir on the Republican River in Kansas, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It's the largest lake in Kansas. Its full summer pool sits at 1144.4 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Milford Lake's water level
Milford Lake is the largest man-made lake in Kansas, a Republican River impoundment whose dam sits at river mile 8.3, just above the spot in Junction City where the Republican meets the Smoky Hill to form the Kansas River. The Corps of Engineers started the dam on July 13, 1962, began storing water on January 16, 1967, and reached pool that July 13. Conservation pool is 1,144.4 feet, holding 373,152 acre-feet over roughly 15,500 to 15,700 acres. That is more water than Tuttle Creek keeps at its normal level, though Tuttle Creek has about twice the flood storage. Above 1,144.4 the lake is flood pool, which runs to 1,176.2 feet and about 1.13 million acre-feet. The embankment is 6,300 feet long and 147 feet high, and the uncontrolled spillway on the right end is 1,250 feet wide, rated at roughly 560,000 cubic feet per second.
Most of the year the Corps holds Milford close to conservation pool and stores flood runoff until the Republican and Kansas rivers below can take it. Towns downstream as far as Kansas City sit in the dam's risk area, and the Corps credits Milford with $1.3 billion in flood damages prevented from 1967 through 2010. The biggest test came in July 1993, when the USGS gage read 1,181.77 feet on July 25, about 37 feet above normal and higher than the spillway crest. In 2019 the lake climbed past 1,167 feet in late May, closing roads in Milford and Wakefield, and peaked at 1,174.73 feet on June 26. The lake also stores 124,500 acre-feet for water supply, and in the dry summer of 2012 the Corps drew on it, along with Tuttle Creek and Perry, to support Missouri River navigation.
Before the lake, the Republican valley held the towns of Alida and Broughton. Both disappeared, their houses moved, razed, burned or buried, while parts of Milford and Wakefield were relocated to higher ground. Water quality is the recurring summer story. KDHE lists Milford as impaired by eutrophication, with algae communities typically dominated by cyanobacteria, and about a quarter of the phosphorus reaching the lake comes out of Nebraska. KDHE put Zone C under a blue-green algae warning in July 2020 and all three zones under warning in August 2022. Milford also produced the Kansas record smallmouth bass, 6.88 pounds, in April 2010, and one of the few warm water, intensive culture fish hatcheries in the country sits below the dam.
Milford Lake — frequently asked
What is Milford Lake's full pool elevation?
Conservation pool, the level the Corps treats as normal full, is 1,144.4 feet above sea level, storing 373,152 acre-feet. Anything higher is flood storage, which tops out at 1,176.2 feet, where the lake would hold about 1.13 million acre-feet. The top of the dam is 1,213 feet. When the lake is several feet over 1,144.4 after heavy rain, the Corps is holding back runoff and will let it out as the Republican and Kansas rivers can take it.
What is Milford Lake's record high level?
The highest daily reading at the USGS lake gage is 1,181.77 feet on July 25, 1993, about 37 feet above conservation pool and more than five feet over the crest of the uncontrolled spillway. The lake stayed above 1,180 feet from July 23 through July 27. The second highest crest was 1,174.73 feet on June 26, 2019, and the lake reached 1,170 feet in October 1973. The Recent high in the gauge panel on this page covers only the last few years of readings, which is why it shows a lower figure.
What is the lowest Milford Lake has been?
Since the lake first filled in 1967, the lowest daily reading at the USGS gage is 1,136.91 feet on January 27, 2003, roughly seven and a half feet below conservation pool. Winter readings near 1,137 feet also showed up in 1987, 1988, 1996, 1997, 2002, 2012 and 2013. The Recent low in the gauge panel covers only the last few years, so it does not reach this mark.
Why does Milford Lake stay above normal in late summer and fall?
Under the Corps' water level management plan published in 2025, from August 1 to October 1 the dam holds releases to minimum outflow and lets the lake rise toward 1,145.4 feet. From October 1 to January 1 the target is at least one foot above conservation pool. A lake a foot or so over 1,144.4 in autumn is usually following that plan, not a sign of flooding.
Is Milford Lake the largest lake in Kansas?
It is the largest man-made lake in the state, at roughly 15,700 surface acres by the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks figure, with 163 miles of shoreline. It also holds more water at normal pool than Tuttle Creek, 373,152 acre-feet against 304,304. Tuttle Creek, though, has the bigger flood pool, about 2.18 million acre-feet at the top of flood storage compared with 1.13 million at Milford.
Does Milford Lake have blue-green algae?
It has been on KDHE's list more than once. Zone C went to a warning in July 2020, and in August 2022 all three zones were under warning at the same time. KDHE's water quality plan for the lake classifies it as eutrophic, with algae typically dominated by cyanobacteria, driven by phosphorus coming down the Republican River. Check the current KDHE advisory map before swimming or letting dogs in the water.
What fish does Milford Lake have?
KDWP's 2021 sampling found white bass at their best catch rate in five years, 6.9 per net, and black crappie at their highest since 2017. Wipers held steady, averaging about 19 inches. Walleye catch fell, and only one of 50 sampled fish topped the 21 inch minimum. Blue catfish are managed with a 25 to 40 inch protected slot, and most sampled fish were under it. The state record smallmouth, 6.88 pounds, came from Milford in 2010.
Other lakes near Milford Lake
See current levels for all 21 Kansas lakes and reservoirs →
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