Western water, read plainly
The practical weekly water brief for operators, not water lawyers.
Reservoir storage, basin rollups, drought class and allocations, pulled from the public record every day and compared to what is normal. One brief a week. No forecasts, no spin.
Data as of Jun 18, 2026
Furthest below normal
All reservoirs →California drought
Drought class by state, week over week
-100% vs 5-yr
Rio Grande Floodway at San Marcial streamflow
Daily mean discharge, Rio Grande basin, New Mexico
-100% vs 5-yr
Dolores River near Cisco streamflow
Daily mean discharge, Dolores-Colorado basin, Utah
-80% vs 5-yr
Yampa River near Maybell streamflow
Daily mean discharge, Yampa-Green basin, Colorado
-78% vs 5-yr
Bighorn River at Kane streamflow
Daily mean discharge, Bighorn-Missouri basin, Wyoming
-75% vs 5-yr
Colorado River near Cisco streamflow
Daily mean discharge, Colorado (Upper) basin, Utah
-72% vs 5-yr
Carson River near Carson City streamflow
Daily mean discharge, Carson-Great Basin basin, Nevada
-65% vs 5-yr
Rio Grande at Otowi Bridge streamflow
Daily mean discharge, Rio Grande basin, New Mexico
-62% vs 5-yr
The data
Reservoirs
Storage vs the historical normal for major western reservoirs.
18 pagesBasins
Storage and streamflow rolled up by western river basin.
13 pagesDrought
Drought class by state and county, week over week.
11 pagesAllocations
CVP and SWP allocation announcements, as they land.
22 pagesStreamflow
Daily mean discharge at basin-representative gauges.
32 pages