Caballo Reservoir water level — New Mexico

New Mexico · USACE · reading Aug 22, 2026, 1:15 PM (UTC+00:00)

Caballo Reservoir in New Mexico was last measured at 14,426 acre-ft of storage (no elevation gauge reported), as of Aug 22, 2026, 1:15 PM (UTC+00:00) (USACE CWMS Data).

Current reading Caballo Reservoir · New Mexico
Pool elevation
Not reported

This station reports storage but no elevation gauge — its managing agency does not publish a pool-elevation reading here.

% of conservation pool full
Not reported
Storage
14,426 acre-ft
Recent trend
Not enough data

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).

Not for navigation or safety decisions (why →)

Source: USACE SPA/Caballo, retrieved Aug 31, 2026, 8:24 AM (UTC+00:00). Official page for this lake →

About this gauge's record

USACE's continuous elevation record for this project begins in 2005 (2 tracked series for this project).

The dam behind Caballo Reservoir

Caballo Reservoir is held back by Caballo Dam (also recorded as Caballo Reservoir) , a rockfill embankment — quarried rock placed in compacted layers around a sealing core , standing 110 ft high and running 4,558 ft along its crest , built across RIO GRANDE RIVER in Sierra County , near HATCH . It was completed in 1938 and modified in 1993S;2002E;2002H;2002M , and is owned by BUREAU OF RECLAMATION (a federal owner) , to a design credited to BUREAU OF RECLAMATION.

Its recorded primary purpose is flood risk reduction — the pool is drawn down between storms so there is empty space waiting for the next flood, which is why this level can fall in dry weather and climb sharply after rain . It also serves flood risk reduction;irrigation;hydroelectric.

Its spillway is gated, so the operator can hold the pool above the spillway crest and meter what leaves. The spillway opening is 108 ft wide. Its outlet works use tainter (radial)2.

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.

At its normal pool the reservoir covers about 14,530 acres. NID records a maximum storage of 379,210 acre-ft against a normal storage of 231,510 acre-ft. Its maximum discharge capacity is 28,000 cubic feet per second.

Dam facts: National Inventory of Dams record NM00131 , filed by Bureau of Reclamation — U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, public domain. Water levels above come from USACE CWMS Data 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.

Lakes nearest to Caballo Reservoir, with current level and distance.
Lake State Level Distance
Elephant Butte Reservoir NM 30 km
Zuni Salt Lake NM 6,221.49 ft 220 km
Two River Reservoir NM 3,977.02 ft 243 km
Two Rivers Dam NM 3,957.00 ft 244 km
Diamond a Reservoir NM 3,957.00 ft 244 km
Lyman Lake AZ 254 km

Frequently asked questions

What is the current water level of Caballo Reservoir?
This lake reports storage (14,426 acre-ft as of Aug 22, 2026, 1:15 PM (UTC+00:00)) but no elevation gauge — its managing agency does not publish a pool-elevation reading here.
Is Caballo 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 USACE SPA/Caballo, retrieved Aug 31, 2026, 8:24 AM (UTC+00:00).

More in New Mexico

See every lake tracked in New Mexico, or read the methodology behind these figures.