Jun 4, 2026
Elephant Butte Down 14% on the Week, 47% Below the 5-Year Median
Elephant Butte falls to 179,802 af, down 14% and 47% below the 5-year median at the start of drawdown season. Rio Grande gauge at 0.1 cfs. Wyoming at 98% drought coverage, Colorado at 93%, both 60-plus pts above their 5-year medians.
Cite
Get the weekly water brief
Get The Waterline in your inbox every Thursday. No spam, we won't ever share your email, and you can always unsubscribe.
Elephant Butte Reservoir fell to 179,802 af last week, a 14% week-over-week drop and 47% below the 5-year median per US Bureau of Reclamation data. The decline arrives at the start of irrigation-season drawdown, when the reservoir shoulders New Mexico's summer delivery load. USGS data show the tracked Rio Grande gauge at 0.1 cfs.
- Storage
- Wyoming: 98% drought coverage (D1-D4), 68 pts above the 5-year median, no change on the week (US Drought Monitor).
- Colorado: 93% drought coverage, 62 pts above the 5-year median, down 1 pt week over week (US Drought Monitor).
- Klamath County, OR: 100% drought coverage, 62 pts above the 5-year median (US Drought Monitor).
- Blue Mesa Reservoir: 340,117 af, 32% below the 5-year median, down 1% on the week (USBR).
- Bear-Great Basin streamflow: 840 cfs, up 318% week over week but still 40% below the 5-year median (USGS).
- San Juan-Colorado streamflow: 796 cfs, 128% above the 5-year median, down 7% on the week (USGS).
CVP contractors across all tracked service categories stand at 100% (US Bureau of Reclamation, announced February 26). SWP statewide stands at 45%, revised from 30% on May 1 (California DWR). Neither changed this week.
Data note: One CVP data series has not updated in more than two weeks. CVP storage and operational figures should be treated as stale until the series refreshes.