How Low Are Wyoming Reservoirs

Okay, so we all know that our region has been in a drought for a while. In Wyoming, we store water as best we can. Now that we have reached August, let's see what our reservoir holdings look like.

Look at the map below, and you'll see that there are a few out there that look near full. Water is often moved from one site to the next for storage and later use. That's why you'll see Pathfinder and Seminoe in central Wyoming so low and Alcova nearly full.

Overall reservoir levels in Wyoming and nearby regional key systems remain in stable-to-moderate shape, with major North Platte facilities sitting well over 70% to 80% of capacity. (ARCGIS Online).

Seminoe Reservoir: Holding 760,332 acre-feet out of 1,017,273 total capacity (approx. 74.7% full).

Pathfinder Reservoir: Holding 916,896 acre-feet out of 1,070,000 total capacity (approx. 85.7% full).

Alcova Reservoir: Holding 157,306 acre-feet out of 184,405 total capacity (approx. 85.3% full).

Keyhole Dam and Reservoir: Holding 86,813 acre-feet (approx. 68.7% full).

Buffalo Bill Dam and Reservoir: Holding 529,305 acre-feet.

The map below is a single source for teacup diagrams for most major Wyoming reservoirs. Also included are storage diagrams for Lake Powell and Lake Mead on the Lower Colorado River Basin, as well as various other downstream reservoirs in surrounding states. This map is from the Wyoming Climate Office.

wrds uwyo edu surface water teacups

According to the Wyoming Climate Office, Wyoming is the 5th driest state and drought is a constant threat in our region.

The intensity of this drought event has varied from year to year, and counties or regions within the state have experienced varying levels of drought impacts. However, this drought has been a significant event by any measure.

Conditions have eased somewhat in mid-2008, but resumed again in 2012 for a period of about two years. After another period of better times in 2014 and 2015, we are once again seeing Severe and Extreme drought conditions in Wyoming.