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# Blue Mesa Reservoir water level

Live reservoir storage and water level in Gunnison-Colorado basin, Colorado

_Data through Aug 12, 2026 · source last checked Aug 13, 2026 · page revised Aug 13, 2026_

> Now 215,308 af, 57% below the 5-yr median, 23% of capacity.

Blue Mesa storage fell to 221,055 af, down 5.1% on the week and 18.3% month over month. The reservoir sits 56% below the 5-year median at 23% of capacity.

## The numbers

| Period | Current | Prior | Change |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Week over week | 215,308 af | 228,296 af | -5.7% |
| Month over month | 215,308 af | 263,620 af | -18.3% |
| Year over year | 215,308 af | 497,489 af | -56.7% |
| vs 5-yr median | 215,308 af | 497,489 af | -56.7% |

### Reservoir facts

| Measure | Value | Source |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Full pool elevation | 7,519.4 ft above sea level (top of joint use pool) | USBR |
| Surface area at full pool | 9,219 acres | USBR |
| Total capacity | 940,700 acre-feet | USBR |

## About Blue Mesa Reservoir

Blue Mesa Dam forms the largest lake wholly within Colorado, impounding the Gunnison River as part of the Colorado River Storage Project's Wayne N. Aspinall Unit. Reclamation runs it for storage and hydropower, and the National Park Service manages the shoreline inside Curecanti National Recreation Area. It holds the state's largest lake-trout and Kokanee salmon fishery.

Total capacity is 940,700 af, over the past five years storage has ranged from 208,761 af to 765,190 af.

Those figures describe the reservoir at full pool, not today. The chart at the top of this page tracks storage in acre-feet rather than water depth, so read the current figure against total capacity for how full the reservoir is, and against the full pool elevation for how far the surface sits below a full reservoir. The two do not move together one for one: a reservoir narrows as it deepens, so one holding half its capacity still stands more than half as deep.

Sources: full pool elevation and surface area from [the Bureau of Reclamation](https://www.usbr.gov/tsc/techreferences/reservoir/BlueMesaReservoir2019SedimentationSurvey_Final508.pdf); total capacity from the Bureau of Reclamation.

## About this data

- Source: US Bureau of Reclamation RISE; California reservoirs via CA DWR CDEC
- Series: End-of-day reservoir storage
- Geography: Blue Mesa Reservoir water level
- Unit: acre-feet
- Calculation period: Daily reading
- Last observation: Aug 12, 2026
- Update frequency: Daily

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Cite: Blue Mesa Reservoir water level is 57% below its 5-yr median for the date. The Waterline, data through Aug 12, 2026. https://the-waterline.com/reservoir/blue-mesa-reservoir
Canonical URL: https://the-waterline.com/reservoir/blue-mesa-reservoir