Lake Whitney Water Level
Lake Whitney is at 530.94 ft today (Oct 6), 2.06 ft below its 533 ft full pool, up 0.58 ft this week.
Texas · Brazos River
Sponsor Lake Whitney
Put your marina, real-estate, or local business in front of everyone checking this lake's level. One exclusive sponsor per lake.
Cancel anytime · Questions?
Water level history
About Lake Whitney
Lake Whitney is a reservoir on the Brazos River in Texas, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Its full summer pool sits at 533 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Lake Whitney's water level
Lake Whitney is the Corps of Engineers' big flood reservoir on the middle Brazos, about 30 miles north of Waco on the Bosque and Hill county line. Congress authorized it in the Flood Control Act of 1941, construction began in May 1947, and the gates closed on December 10, 1951. The number that matters most for the level is 533 feet. That is the top of the conservation pool, and it is also the crest of the ogee spillway, which carries seventeen tainter gates, each 40 feet wide and 38 feet high. Everything above 533 is flood storage that the Fort Worth District has to release on purpose, and the flood pool runs all the way to 571 feet, with the top of the dam at 580. Total capacity is about 2.1 million acre-feet, so after a wet spring the lake can sit twenty or thirty feet high for weeks while the Corps meters water out without flooding farms and towns downstream.
Below 533 the water is spoken for. The conservation and power pool runs from 520 to 533 feet, and the Brazos River Authority contracts for 57,292 acre-feet of municipal and industrial supply in that band. Below 520 sits the powerhead reserve that keeps water on the turbines. The powerhouse went into commercial service in June 1955, and its two units were rehabilitated in 2014 and 2015 and now rate 22 megawatts each. The Corps says most of Whitney's energy is a byproduct of water supply and flood releases rather than dedicated peaking. The operating plan has shifted before: the conservation pool was set at 520 feet until 1968 and stepped up to 533 in March 1972. A 2025 draft reallocation study, sponsored by the BRA, evaluates moving another 184,354 acre-feet into water supply, most of it from the powerhead reserve, which would change how deep the lake can be drawn in a drought.
The Brazos arrives at Whitney already carrying salt from natural springs and seeps southeast of Lubbock, and a USGS study of the 1970 to 1980 water years found the lake usually below 1,300 milligrams per liter of dissolved solids and 500 of chloride, with very hard water. That brackish chemistry helps explain the lake's biggest recurring problem. Texas Parks and Wildlife reports toxic golden alga blooms at Whitney nearly every year since 2001; the 2010 bloom began in mid March near Juniper Cove and killed more than 68,000 fish, mostly shad and freshwater drum. TPWD answers with annual striped bass stockings, and the stripers remain the headline fish, best from March through May. In summer the lake stratifies from April into October and water below 40 to 50 feet runs short of oxygen, so fish and anglers move to trolling and drifting. Lake Whitney State Park sits on the east shore off FM 1244 near the dam.
Lake Whitney — frequently asked
What is Lake Whitney's normal pool level?
533 feet above sea level (NGVD29), the top of the conservation pool and also the crest of the gated spillway. TPWD notes the lake typically fluctuates four to eight feet a year. Readings above 533 mean water is stored in the flood pool, which the Corps of Engineers releases through the tainter gates and powerhouse as downstream conditions allow.
What is the record high water level at Lake Whitney?
570.25 feet on May 29, 1957, within a foot of the 571 foot top of the flood pool, less than six years after the gates closed and seven months after the lake's record low. The highest reading since 1988 was 564.93 feet on May 9, 1990, and in June 2016 the lake crested at 561.32 feet, about 28 feet above normal pool. The recent high and low shown by this page's gauge come from a short window of recent readings, not the full record since 1951.
What is the lowest Lake Whitney has ever been?
509.26 feet on November 1, 1956, during the drought of the 1950s, when the conservation pool was set at 520 feet. The modern low came in the 2011 drought, when the lake bottomed at about 516.7 feet on December 3, 2011, more than 16 feet below today's 533 foot conservation pool. TPWD biologists surveyed that year with the lake roughly 15 feet low.
Why does Lake Whitney stay high for so long after big rains?
Whitney holds about 2.1 million acre-feet, most of it flood storage between 533 and 571 feet, The Corps releases that water only as fast as the river below can carry it without flooding, so after high water in 1957, 1990, 2007, 2015 and 2016 the lake can take weeks or months to work back down to 533.
Who uses the water in Lake Whitney?
The Brazos River Authority contracts for 57,292 acre-feet of municipal and industrial storage between 520 and 533 feet, and the Corps generates hydropower with two 22 megawatt units. A 2025 draft Corps reallocation study, sponsored by the BRA, evaluates adding 184,354 acre-feet of water supply storage, taken mostly from the powerhead reserve below 520 feet and partly from the conservation pool.
Why are there fish kills at Lake Whitney?
Golden alga, a microscopic organism that thrives in the salty water of the upper Brazos, produces toxins that kill fish. TPWD has documented blooms at Whitney nearly every year since 2001. The 2010 event started in mid March near Juniper Cove, spread to Lofers Bend and Soldiers Bluff, and killed more than 68,000 fish, mostly gizzard and threadfin shad and freshwater drum.
Is Lake Whitney good for striped bass?
TPWD calls Whitney's striped bass fishing some of the best in the state, with March through May the prime months. Because golden alga blooms hit the population, the department requests annual striper stockings. In summer the lake stratifies and deep water loses oxygen, so stripers are usually caught trolling or drift fishing over deeper water. White bass, smallmouth bass and trophy blue catfish are also highlights.
Flow released below Lake Whitney
This gauge reads the water leaving the dam, which is the number to check for fishing, paddling and downstream conditions. Live flow is tracked on riverlvl.com.
Other lakes near Lake Whitney
- Wright Patman LakeTX
- Waco LakeTX
- Amistad ReservoirTX
- Lake TravisTX
- Belton LakeTX
- Toledo Bend ReservoirTX/LA
See current levels for all 27 Texas lakes and reservoirs →
Add this gauge to your website
Run a marina, boat rental, guide service, or real-estate site on Lake Whitney? Put this free live-level widget on your page — just copy and paste the code: