Heron Reservoir on Willow Creek water level — New Mexico
Heron Reservoir on Willow Creek in New Mexico was last measured at 35,617 acre-ft of storage (no elevation gauge reported), as of Aug 22, 2026, 1:15 PM (UTC+00:00) (USACE CWMS Data).
- Pool elevation
- Not reported
- % of conservation pool full
- Not reported
- Storage
- 35,617 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: USACE SPA/Heron, 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 2012 (2 tracked series for this project).
The dam behind Heron Reservoir on Willow Creek
Heron Reservoir on Willow Creek is held back by Heron Dam (also recorded as Heron Reservoir) , a rockfill embankment — quarried rock placed in compacted layers around a sealing core , standing 269 ft high and running 1,220 ft along its crest , built across WILLOW CREEK in Rio Arriba County , near EL VADO . It was completed in 1971 , and is owned by BUREAU OF RECLAMATION (a federal owner) .
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;water supply.
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 40 ft wide.
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 6,148 acres. NID records a maximum storage of 429,646 acre-ft against a normal storage of 401,317 acre-ft. Its maximum discharge capacity is 660 cubic feet per second.
Dam facts: National Inventory of Dams record NM00122 , 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.
| Lake | State | Level | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Vado Lake | NM | — | 8 km |
| Abiquiu Reservoir | NM | 6,198.99 ft | 53 km |
| Platoro Reservoir | CO | 9,987.05 ft | 78 km |
| Navajo Reservoir | NM | 6,013.41 ft | 82 km |
| Vallecito Dam & Reservoir | CO | 7,620.66 ft | 112 km |
| Nambe Falls Reservoir | NM | 6,808.72 ft | 116 km |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the current water level of Heron Reservoir on Willow Creek?
- This lake reports storage (35,617 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 Heron Reservoir on Willow Creek 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/Heron, 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.