New Melones Lake water level chart
By Michael, independent developer behind zovo.one. Latest CDEC month October 2026.
CDEC's latest monthly storage figure for New Melones Lake is 1,504,088 acre-feet, for October 2026, 63 percent of its 2,400,000 acre-foot capacity. It is the 19th highest of the 43 October figures from 1984 to 2026.
Where October 2026 sits in 51 years of readings
CDEC's latest monthly storage figure for New Melones Lake is 1,504,088 acre-feet for October 2026. That is 63 percent of its 2,400,000 acre-foot capacity.
The file holds 43 October figures from 1984 to 2026. This one is the 19th highest of them. The average October figure across those years is 1,318,408 acre-feet, so the lake holds 114 percent of its average for the month.
Across every month from January 1984 on, 243 of 514 months were lower than today. That is 47 percent of those months.
The record low and the record high
The lowest monthly figure since January 1984 is 83,839 acre-feet, in September 1992. The highest is 2,349,393 acre-feet, in June 2006.
CDEC lists 1983 as the year New Melones Lake first filled. So the ranks, the average and the record low on this page count months from January 1984 on. That boundary is ours, not CDEC's. The file itself starts in October 1975. Its lowest figure, 2,995 acre-feet in August 1977, comes from before that boundary, so the comparisons leave it out.
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 1984, where the ranks start.
Want today's elevation and percent full rather than the monthly record? The New Melones Lake water level page carries the latest daily CDEC reading.
Questions about the New Melones Lake record
How far back does this chart go? To October 1975, the first month in CDEC's monthly storage file for station NML. The file carries 613 monthly readings through October 2026.
Is New Melones Lake low for October? It is the 19th highest of 43 October readings, at 114 percent of the October average.
What is the lowest it has been? 83,839 acre-feet in September 1992, counting from January 1984.
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 NML. 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 Shasta Lake, Lake Oroville, Lake Berryessa, Folsom Lake, Pine Flat Lake, Lake Isabella, Millerton 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.