How Close Is Lake Powell to Dead Pool?
Lake Powell is currently 149.2 ft above dead pool: today's elevation is 3,519.2 ft against the 3,370 ft dead pool threshold. The more urgent line is minimum power pool at 3,490 ft — the lake is 29.2 ft above it, and below that Glen Canyon Dam stops generating electricity.
Current level
3,519.2 ft
Today's USBR reading
Minimum power pool
3,490 ft
29.2 ft below current
Dead pool
3,370 ft
149.2 ft below current
What dead pool actually means
Dead pool is not "empty." At 3,370 ft, Lake Powell would still hold roughly 2 million acre-feet of water — but none of it could flow through Glen Canyon Dam's river outlets by gravity. Releases to the Grand Canyon, and ultimately to Lake Mead, would stop. That is why the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation treats dead pool as a hard operational boundary and manages upstream releases to protect it.
The earlier tripwire is minimum power pool (3,490 ft). Below it, the penstocks that feed the dam's eight turbines begin drawing air and hydropower generation must stop. Glen Canyon supplies power to about five million people across seven states, so operations are managed to keep a buffer above this line first.
How close has it come?
The closest call came in spring 2023: on August 20, 2026 the lake bottomed out at 3,519.2 ft — just 29 ft above minimum power pool. A record snowpack that year pulled the lake back up. Since then, levels have moved with each winter's snowpack; the water level chart shows the last 365 days, and the forecast page covers where levels are projected to head next.
For scale: Full Pool is 3,700 ft, so the entire operating range between dead pool and full is 330 vertical feet. Today the lake sits 45% of the way up that range.
Dead Pool FAQ
How close is Lake Powell to dead pool?
Lake Powell is currently 149.2 ft above dead pool (3,519.2 ft vs the 3,370 ft dead pool elevation) and 29.2 ft above the 3,490 ft minimum power pool.
What is dead pool at Lake Powell?
Dead pool is 3,370 ft elevation — the level at which water can no longer flow through Glen Canyon Dam's river outlet works by gravity. Below it, water is effectively trapped and cannot be released downstream to the Grand Canyon and Lake Mead.
What is minimum power pool?
Minimum power pool is 3,490 ft — the lowest level at which Glen Canyon Dam's hydroelectric turbines can still generate power. Below that, the dam stops producing electricity for roughly 5 million customers, well before actual dead pool is reached.
Has Lake Powell ever reached dead pool?
No. The lowest Lake Powell has been since filling is 3,519.2 ft on August 20, 2026 — still 149 ft above dead pool, though only 29 ft above minimum power pool.
What happens if Lake Powell hits dead pool?
Water releases to the Grand Canyon and Lake Mead would be physically impossible by gravity, hydropower would already have stopped, and the Colorado River system below the dam would depend on whatever flows bypass or precede the reservoir. Federal water managers adjust releases specifically to avoid this outcome.
Updated August 20, 2026 · Elevation data: U.S. Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). Ramp status: National Park Service (NPS). Informational only — verify conditions with official sources.