Waco Lake Water Level
Waco Lake is at 459.18 ft today (Oct 19), 2.82 ft below its 462 ft full pool, down 0.24 ft this week.
Texas · Bosque River
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Water level history
About Waco Lake
Waco Lake is a reservoir on the Bosque River in Texas, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 462 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Waco Lake's water level
Waco Lake sits inside the Waco city limits, where the North, Middle and South Bosque rivers come together, and it collects runoff from 1,670 square miles of Central Texas. The Corps of Engineers runs the dam, a 24,618 foot earthfill embankment 140 feet high, for two jobs at once: storing drinking water for Waco, Woodway, Bellmead, Hewitt and Robinson, and catching floods before they reach the Brazos. The normal lake is 462 feet. The gated service spillway crest sits just above it at 465 feet, and the flood pool reaches to about 500 feet, so nearly 40 feet of the reservoir exists only to be filled by storms and then drained back down through controlled releases. Most of the time the level wanders within a few feet of normal; TPWD puts typical fluctuation at two to six feet. The big moves come in a hurry when heavy rain falls on the Bosque watershed, and they reverse slowly as the Corps lets the flood water out.
The lake is the second dam on this spot. Waco looked to the Bosque for water in 1925, voted a $3.5 million bond in 1926, and began a city dam in 1929 that was finished in 1930 with 39,000 acre feet of storage. It was a disappointment: its gates clogged with debris, and it did little to stop the floods of the 1930s and 1940s, including the 1936 flood that put East Waco under water and displaced about 2,000 people. Congressman Bob Poage got a Corps study authorized in 1938. Construction on the federal dam began on 13 June 1958, and in the fall of 1961 cracks opened on the eastern face of the new embankment. Engineers traced the slide to a clay shale foundation weakened along a pair of faults, and stabilization work ran until spring 1965. Water began impounding on 26 February 1965. In 1998 the City Council voted to raise the lake seven feet, from 455 to 462, and the higher pool began filling in 2003, adding about 79,000 acre feet of supply.
Floods, not droughts, set the extremes here. The National Weather Service lists the highest crest at 488.48 feet on 24 December 1991, followed by 486.03 feet on 9 July 2007, 479.13 feet on 31 May 2015 and 473.41 feet on 26 November 2004. In May 2024 heavy rain pushed the lake to 482.42 feet, more than 20 feet above normal, and flooded the Flat Rock boat ramp while the dam released water downstream. The low side is just as dramatic. After a long summer decline the lake bottomed at 450.34 feet on 24 October 2023, about 12 feet low and roughly 55 percent full by TWDB accounting, which TPWD described as nearly a historic low. Then storms hit the watershed, and TWDB daily data show the lake climbing from 450.34 on 25 October to above 463 by 29 October and 465.57 by 31 October. It went from just over half full to full in four days. That speed is the thing to remember about Waco: a low lake here can be one storm away from a high one.
Waco Lake — frequently asked
What is Waco Lake's full pool level?
Normal full pool, the top of the conservation pool, is 462 feet. It was 455 feet until the City of Waco raised it seven feet; the higher pool began filling in 2003. TWDB lists the same level as 462.22 feet on the newer NAVD88 datum and computes percent full against about 188,900 acre feet of conservation storage. Anything above 462 is flood storage the Corps will release, up to a flood pool of about 500 feet.
What is Waco Lake's record high?
The highest crest in the National Weather Service record is 488.48 feet on 24 December 1991, about 26 feet above today's normal pool. The July 2007 flood came close at 486.03 feet. More recently the lake reached 482.42 feet in May 2024, when the City of Waco reported it more than 20 feet above normal and the Flat Rock boat ramp was under water. The gauge on this page only covers readings since 2023, so its high and low are recent marks rather than the lake's records.
What is Waco Lake's record low?
Since the pool was raised in 2003, the low mark is about 450.3 feet, reached on 23 to 24 October 2023 in TWDB daily data and reported by TPWD as 450.34 feet, which it called nearly a historic low. TWDB records back to 1995 show a lower reading of 448.96 feet in February 2000, but that was under the old 455 foot pool, so the lake was only about six feet below normal at the time.
Why was Lake Waco so low in 2023?
The lake fell steadily through the summer and fall of 2023, and TPWD measured it 10.8 feet low during a summer 2023 survey and 11.6 feet low that fall. Even so, a September 2023 TPWD inventory at 451.2 feet rated all 12 public boat ramps adequate or better. Heavy rain in late October then refilled the lake from about 55 percent to full in four days.
Why does Waco's tap water sometimes taste or smell bad?
Phosphorus washing down the North Bosque feeds algae blooms in the lake, and the blooms cause taste and odor complaints; TPWD classifies the reservoir as eutrophic. In April 2004 the City of Waco sued dairies upstream, alleging manure from operations in Comanche, Erath, Bosque and Hamilton counties was polluting the watershed. A federal judge refused to dismiss the case, and a settlement was announced in January 2006.
How is the fishing on Lake Waco?
Catfish lead the way. TPWD's 2024 gill netting caught blue catfish at 6.0 per net night, the highest rate ever recorded on the lake, with strong young year classes. White bass were well above their historical average, and TPWD stocks hybrid striped bass at 15 per acre. White crappie were not abundant in the latest survey but were in excellent condition. Nearly 75 artificial reef structures have been placed since 2021.
Who owns Waco Lake and its water?
The dam belongs to the federal government and is operated by the Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth District. The City of Waco holds the primary water rights, and the lake supplies Waco and neighboring Woodway, Bellmead, Hewitt and Robinson. The Brazos River Authority bought 91,000 acre feet of storage in the reservoir for $6 million, and the Corps operates under water conservation contracts with the authority.
Other lakes near Waco Lake
- Lake WhitneyTX
- Lake TravisTX
- Wright Patman LakeTX
- Toledo Bend ReservoirTX/LA
- Amistad ReservoirTX
- Lake TexomaTX/OK
See current levels for all 27 Texas lakes and reservoirs →
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