The Rio Grande gauge tracked 177 cfs this week, down 31% from last week and 78% below the five-year median per USGS. Elephant Butte Reservoir holds 27,438 af, flat on the week and 73% below the five-year median per the Bureau of Reclamation. Per NIDIS's Aug 20 update, the reservoir stood at 1.4% of capacity with an 82-mile section of the Middle Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico remaining dry.

• Blue Mesa Reservoir (Colorado): 189,745 af, down 7% week over week and 60% below the five-year median per the Bureau of Reclamation.
• Dolores River at Dolores-Colorado: 14 cfs, down 6% on the week and 90% below the five-year median per USGS, the widest below-normal margin of any tracked site this week.
• Colorado drought: 90% of the state in moderate-or-worse drought (D1-D4) per the US Drought Monitor, 54 pts above the five-year median.
• Yuma County (AZ) drought: 100% coverage, 52 pts above the five-year median per the US Drought Monitor.
• Central Valley counties: Fresno, Kern, Kings and Stanislaus all read 0% drought coverage per the US Drought Monitor, ranging from 2 to 99 pts below their five-year medians.

Allocations (standing): CVP north-of-Delta and In-Delta M&I allocations stand at 100% per the Bureau of Reclamation (announced February 2026). The SWP statewide allocation stands at 45% per the Department of Water Resources (announced May 1, 2026). No allocation changes this week.

Data note: Two CVP data series have not updated in over two weeks. Treat figures from those series as stale.

The Waterline reports public data from the US Bureau of Reclamation, USGS, the US Drought Monitor, and state water agencies. It is not investment, legal, or water-rights advice. Allocations and drought classes are reported as published by their agencies; we do not forecast them.