Pine Flat Lake water level chart
By Michael, independent developer behind zovo.one. Latest CDEC month October 2026.
CDEC's latest monthly storage figure for Pine Flat Lake is 182,720 acre-feet, for October 2026, 18 percent of its 1,000,000 acre-foot capacity. It is the 18th lowest of the 70 October figures from 1957 to 2026.
Where October 2026 sits in 74 years of readings
CDEC's latest monthly storage figure for Pine Flat Lake is 182,720 acre-feet for October 2026. That is 18 percent of its 1,000,000 acre-foot capacity.
The file holds 70 October figures from 1957 to 2026. This one is the 18th lowest of them. The average October figure across those years is 331,984 acre-feet, so the lake holds 55 percent of its average for the month.
Across every month from January 1957 on, 107 of 837 months were lower than today. That is 13 percent of those months.
The record low and the record high
The lowest monthly figure since January 1957 is 29,050 acre-feet, in August 1990. The highest is 996,820 acre-feet, in June 1958.
CDEC lists 1956 as the year Pine Flat Lake first filled. So the ranks, the average and the record low on this page count months from January 1957 on. That boundary is ours, not CDEC's. The file itself starts in December 1951. Its lowest figure, 0 acre-feet in October 1953, 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 1957, where the ranks start.
Want today's elevation and percent full rather than the monthly record? The Pine Flat Lake water level page carries the latest daily CDEC reading.
Questions about the Pine Flat Lake record
How far back does this chart go? To December 1951, the first month in CDEC's monthly storage file for station PNF. The file carries 889 monthly readings through October 2026.
Is Pine Flat Lake low for October? It is the 18th lowest of 70 October readings, at 55 percent of the October average.
What is the lowest it has been? 29,050 acre-feet in August 1990, counting from January 1957.
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 PNF. 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, 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.