San Carlos Reservoir water level — Arizona
San Carlos Reservoir in Arizona was last measured at 1,930 acre-ft of storage (no elevation gauge reported), as of Aug 31, 2026, 12:30 AM (UTC-07:00) (USGS Water Services). This reading is provisional and subject to revision.
- Pool elevation
- Not reported
- % of conservation pool full
- Not reported
- Storage
- 1,930 acre-ft
- Recent trend
- Not enough data
This station reports storage but no elevation gauge — its managing agency does not publish a pool-elevation reading here.
Recent trend
Not enough recent readings to show a trend.
Data: USGS Water Services (waterservices.usgs.gov) and USACE CWMS Data (cwms-data.usace.army.mil), retrieved 2026-08-31. Both public domain (a work of the U.S. Government, 17 U.S.C. §105).
Source: USGS site 09469000, retrieved Aug 31, 2026, 8:24 AM (UTC+00:00). Official page for this lake →
About this gauge's record
This site's drainage basin covers approximately 12,886 sq mi of contributing watershed.
The dam behind San Carlos Reservoir
San Carlos Reservoir is held back by Coolidge (also recorded as San Carlos Dam) , a concrete structure , standing 250 ft high and running 920 ft along its crest , built across Gila River in Gila County , near Hayden . It was completed in 1931 and modified in 1954;1987;1995;2022 , and is owned by BIA (a federal owner) , to a design credited to U.S. Indian Service.
Its recorded primary purpose is irrigation — the pool is drawn down across the growing season to serve water rights downstream, then refilled over winter . It also serves irrigation;other;recreation;flood risk reduction.
It is founded on rock, with a concrete core. Its spillway is ungated: once the pool reaches the crest, water leaves on its own and the operator cannot hold it back. The spillway opening is 332 ft wide. Its outlet works use slide (sluice gate).
NID classes it high hazard potential. That describes what a failure would cost downstream — loss of life would be expected — and says nothing about how likely a failure is, or what condition the dam is in. Its most recent condition assessment was fair: sound under normal loading, though a rare or extreme event could expose a deficiency. That assessment is dated 02/24/2023.
At its normal pool the reservoir covers about 17,068 acres. NID records a maximum storage of 1,356,337 acre-ft against a normal storage of 872,976 acre-ft. Its maximum discharge capacity is 130,000 cubic feet per second.
Dam facts: National Inventory of Dams record AZ10436 , filed by Bureau of Indian Affairs — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, public domain. Water levels above come from USGS Water Services and are a separate source. (How this dam was matched to this gauge →)
Nearby lakes
The six nearest published lakes by centroid distance (great-circle) — cross-state neighbors included.
| Lake | State | Level | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitlow Ranch Dam | AZ | 2,065.11 ft | 71 km |
| Bartlett Reservoir | AZ | — | 125 km |
| Horseshoe Reservoir | AZ | — | 142 km |
| Tat Momolikat Dam | AZ | 1,494.48 ft | 143 km |
| Cragin Dam Reservoir | AZ | — | 165 km |
| Lyman Lake | AZ | — | 170 km |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the current water level of San Carlos Reservoir?
- This lake reports storage (1,930 acre-ft as of Aug 31, 2026, 12:30 AM (UTC-07:00)) but no elevation gauge — its managing agency does not publish a pool-elevation reading here.
- Is San Carlos Reservoir full right now?
- Its managing agency does not publish a %-of-conservation-pool-full figure for this lake, so we show the bare level rather than estimate one.
- Where does this data come from?
- From USGS site 09469000, retrieved Aug 31, 2026, 8:24 AM (UTC+00:00).
More in Arizona
See every lake tracked in Arizona, or read the methodology behind these figures.