Wilson Lake Water Level
Wilson Lake is at 1,511.18 ft today (Oct 19), 4.82 ft below its 1,516 ft full pool, down 0.06 ft this week.
Kansas · Saline River
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Water level history
About Wilson Lake
Wilson Lake is a reservoir on the Saline River in Kansas, operated by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. It's known as the clearest lake in Kansas. Its full summer pool sits at 1516 ft above sea level. Live water levels come from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (CWMS) and update hourly.
Understanding Wilson Lake's water level
Wilson Lake backs up the Saline River in Russell and Lincoln counties, about sixty miles west of Salina, behind an earthen dam the Corps of Engineers finished in 1964 for $20 million. The Corps calls it the clearest lake in Kansas, and the reason is upstream. The Saline drains a slow, grassy basin, and by the time its water reaches the lake most of the mud and sediment has settled out. The same river is also genuinely salty: a U.S. Geological Survey study of the basin found that highly mineralized groundwater from the Dakota Sandstone, entering between Fairport and Wilson, supplies most of the river's sodium and chloride. That slow, meager inflow is the key to reading the gauge. The lake took eight years to fill the first time, first touching 1,516 feet in 1973, and in a dry spell it can take years to win back a few feet.
The number that matters is 1,516 feet, the top of the conservation (multipurpose) pool, where the lake covers about 9,000 acres. Above that sits the flood pool, which runs to 1,554 feet; the uncontrolled spillway crest is at 1,582 and the top of the dam at 1,592. Only once has the lake climbed deep into that space. In July 1993 it rose from about 1,519 feet to nearly 1,548 in a single month, peaking at 1,548.21 feet (daily mean) on August 6, 1993, more than 32 feet above normal. It then took the Corps until well into 1994 to release the water. Other big rises came in April 1987 (1,528), June 1995 (1,530.7) and June 2019 (1,527.1). The low end is just as instructive. After a drought that set in during 2012, the lake fell to 1,505.46 feet on April 16, 2016, the lowest reading since it first filled, with all but two boat ramps closed.
Today Wilson is again running below full. It last reached 1,516 feet in August 2022 and has drifted down since, touching about 1,510.3 feet in May 2026, the lowest level since the 2016 drought. In late September 2026 it sat near 1,510.9 feet with inflow around 50 cubic feet per second and releases of about 15. The Corps must release at least 5 cfs from the dam, and on hot, windy summer days evaporation alone can take the equivalent of 15 cfs, so a lake fed by a river this small loses ground quickly when rain stops. Low water matters to anglers in particular: Wilson has produced the Kansas state record striped bass, 44 pounds, caught by Paul Bahr in May 2010, and the state record walleye, 13.16 pounds, caught by Dustin Ritter in April 1996. The Corps runs ramps at Minooka Park, Lucas Park and the spillway, and Wilson State Park, split into its Hell Creek and Otoe areas, has ramps, beaches and the marina.
Wilson Lake — frequently asked
What is full pool at Wilson Lake?
1,516 feet above sea level, the top of the conservation pool as listed by the Kansas City District of the Corps of Engineers. At that level the lake covers roughly 9,000 acres. Water above 1,516 is flood storage, which extends to 1,554 feet, and the Corps releases it through the outlet works once downstream conditions allow. The dam's uncontrolled spillway crest sits much higher, at 1,582 feet.
Why is Wilson Lake low?
Its only real source of water is the Saline River, a small, slow stream draining dry country. When rain is scarce, inflow can drop close to the 5 cubic feet per second the Corps must release from the dam, while summer evaporation can equal 15 cfs or more. The lake last reached full pool in August 2022 and fell to about 1,510.3 feet in May 2026, roughly six feet low, its lowest since 2016.
What is the highest Wilson Lake has ever been?
1,548.21 feet (USGS daily mean) on August 6, 1993, about 32 feet above conservation pool and six feet below the top of the flood pool. The lake climbed nearly 29 feet during July 1993 alone and stayed above 1,528 feet into December. No other year comes close; the next highest peaks were about 1,530.7 feet in June 1995 and 1,528 feet in April 1987.
What is the lowest Wilson Lake has been?
Setting aside the initial filling, which ran from late 1964 until 1973, the low mark is 1,505.46 feet on April 16, 2016, about 10.5 feet below full pool at the end of a drought that began in 2012. At that point all but two boat ramps were closed and the marina had moved its docks into 15 to 18 feet of water.
Is Wilson Lake really the clearest lake in Kansas?
That is how the Corps of Engineers describes it, and the explanation usually given locally is the watershed. The Saline River moves slowly through a large grassy basin, so mud and sediment settle out before the water reaches the lake. The river itself is salty, picking up sodium chloride from Dakota Sandstone groundwater, which is why an early plan to use Wilson for irrigation was abandoned.
What state record fish have come from Wilson Lake?
Two current Kansas records: a 44 pound striped bass caught by Paul Bahr of Ellsworth on May 14, 2010, and a 13.16 pound walleye caught by Dustin Ritter of Hoisington on April 17, 1996. Stripers are stocked from the state's Milford Hatchery. After a 2017 shad crash tied to drought, the state raised the daily striper limit from two to five, and white perch and zebra mussels are both established in the lake.
Where are the boat ramps at Wilson Lake?
The Corps maintains ramps at Minooka Park on the south shore, Lucas Park on the north shore, and below the dam at the spillway ramp. Wilson State Park, on the south shore at the east end, has ramps in both its Hell Creek and Otoe areas, and Lake Wilson Marina operates in the Hell Creek area. During the 2016 low, only two ramps on the whole lake stayed open.
Flow released below Wilson Lake
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 Wilson Lake
- Big Hill LakeKS
- Webster ReservoirKS
- Cheney ReservoirKS
- Waconda Lake (Glen Elder)KS
- Clinton LakeKS
- Tuttle Creek LakeKS
See current levels for all 21 Kansas lakes and reservoirs →
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