Lake Houston water level — Texas
Lake Houston in Texas was last measured at 136,400 acre-ft of storage (no elevation gauge reported), as of Aug 31, 2026, 2:30 AM (UTC-05:00) (USGS Water Services). This reading is provisional and subject to revision.
- Pool elevation
- Not reported
- % of conservation pool full
- Not reported
- Storage
- 136,400 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 08072000, 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 2,828 sq mi of contributing watershed.
The dam behind Lake Houston
Lake Houston is held back by Lake Houston Dam , a buttress dam — a thin upstream face braced by a row of supports behind it , standing 66 ft high and running 12,097 ft along its crest , built across SAN JACINTO RIVER in Harris County , near MAGNOLIA GARDENS . It was completed in 1954 and modified in 1988S , and is owned by CITY OF HOUSTON (a local government owner) , to a design credited to AMBURSEN ENGINEERING AND EBASCO ENGR & CONST;AMBURSEN ENGINEERING AND EBASCO ENGR & CONST.
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;water supply.
It is founded on soil, with a earth 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 3,160 ft wide. Its outlet works use other controlled2;tainter (radial)2;uncontrolled1.
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 satisfactory — no deficiencies recognised for expected loading. That assessment is dated 11/28/2023.
At its normal pool the reservoir covers about 12,240 acres. NID records a maximum storage of 281,800 acre-ft against a normal storage of 146,700 acre-ft. Its maximum discharge capacity is 525,000 cubic feet per second. It is regulated by TCEQ.
Dam facts: National Inventory of Dams record TX03416 , filed by Texas — 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addicks Reservoir | TX | 76.42 ft | 49 km |
| Barker Reservoir | TX | 69.43 ft | 51 km |
| Lake Conroe | TX | 200.04 ft | 64 km |
| Livingston Reservoir | TX | 129.61 ft | 81 km |
| Gibbons Creek Reservoir | TX | 246.01 ft | 118 km |
| B. A. Steinhagen Lake at Town Bluff | TX | 82.93 ft | 134 km |
Frequently asked questions
- What is the current water level of Lake Houston?
- This lake reports storage (136,400 acre-ft as of Aug 31, 2026, 2:30 AM (UTC-05:00)) but no elevation gauge — its managing agency does not publish a pool-elevation reading here.
- Is Lake Houston 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 08072000, retrieved Aug 31, 2026, 8:24 AM (UTC+00:00).
More in Texas
See every lake tracked in Texas, or read the methodology behind these figures.