Shasta Lake water level chart
By Michael, independent developer behind zovo.one. Latest CDEC month October 2026.
CDEC's latest monthly storage figure for Shasta Lake is 2,272,912 acre-feet, for October 2026, 50 percent of its 4,552,000 acre-foot capacity. It is the 24th lowest of the 72 October figures from 1955 to 2026.
Where October 2026 sits in 73 years of readings
CDEC's latest monthly storage figure for Shasta Lake is 2,272,912 acre-feet for October 2026. That is 50 percent of its 4,552,000 acre-foot capacity.
The file holds 72 October figures from 1955 to 2026. This one is the 24th lowest of them. The average October figure across those years is 2,614,096 acre-feet, so the lake holds 87 percent of its average for the month.
Across every month from January 1955 on, 148 of 860 months were lower than today. That is 17 percent of those months.
The record low and the record high
The lowest monthly figure since January 1955 is 578,000 acre-feet, in August 1977. The highest is 4,579,100 acre-feet, in April 1975. That high is above the capacity CDEC lists today.
CDEC lists 1954 as the year Shasta Lake first filled. So the ranks, the average and the record low on this page count months from January 1955 on. That boundary is ours, not CDEC's. The file itself starts in October 1953.
How to read this chart
The line is storage, the volume of water in the reservoir, in acre-feet. It is not the surface elevation. CDEC publishes storage as one figure per month back to the start of the record, which is why this chart uses it. The dashed line is the capacity CDEC lists for the reservoir. The dotted line marks January 1955, where the ranks start.
Want today's elevation and percent full rather than the monthly record? The Shasta Lake water level page carries the latest daily CDEC reading.
Questions about the Shasta Lake record
How far back does this chart go? To October 1953, the first month in CDEC's monthly storage file for station SHA. The file carries 875 monthly readings through October 2026.
Is Shasta Lake low for October? It is the 24th lowest of 72 October readings, at 87 percent of the October average.
What is the lowest it has been? 578,000 acre-feet in August 1977, counting from January 1955.
How often does this page update? The build fetches the CDEC file again every day and recomputes each figure. A new month shows up once CDEC publishes it.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page is computed in code from CDEC's monthly reservoir storage file for station SHA. The capacity and the first fill year come from CDEC's reservoir information page for the station. The build drops months that CDEC marks as missing. None of the numbers is typed by hand.
The same chart exists for 11 other California lakes. They are Lake Oroville, Lake Berryessa, Folsom Lake, Pine Flat Lake, Lake Isabella, Millerton Lake, New Melones Lake, Don Pedro Reservoir, San Luis Reservoir, Cachuma Lake and Casitas Reservoir. The California lake levels page covers every reservoir in CDEC's daily storage summary.
Levels are point-in-time readings and can lag real conditions. Confirm ramp and hazard status with the lake operator before heading out. Not affiliated with any government agency. Data is republished from public USGS, CDEC and USBR feeds.