State · United States · USGS · BOR · USACE · CDEC
Nebraska
50.2% average fill
Measured
26
Data pending
1
Volume stored
792 hm³
Measured capacity
1,576 hm³
Critical
2
Low level
5
Below month average
21 of 26
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Drought Monitor · 20 October 2026
Weekly map · area in each categoryDrought status
43.3%
of the area in drought (D1 or worse)
Worst category: D3 extreme drought
down 1.0 points on the week
Severe or worse (D2+)
20.9%
Extreme or worse (D3+)
5.2%
DSCI
1310–500
People in drought
208,000
Reservoirs (reservoirs.earth)
50.2% full26 tracked
Reservoirs on drought ground
5 of 274 in D2 or worse
As of the 20 October 2026 U.S. Drought Monitor map, 43.3% of Nebraska was in drought (D1 or worse), with 5.2% in extreme or exceptional drought (D3–D4). The 26 reservoirs we track in Nebraska were 50.2% full on their latest readings. 5 of 27 tracked reservoir sites sit inside the drought area, 4 of them in severe drought (D2) or worse.
The Drought Monitor maps where conditions are dry this week — rainfall, soil moisture, streamflow — not how much water is stored. Reservoir storage lags it by months, so a region can be in drought with full reservoirs, or out of drought with empty ones. Source: droughtmonitor.unl.edu. The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.
Reservoirs
Sorted by capacityHarlan County Lake Near Republican City, Nebr.
Updated 2026-10-27· 86% of month avg
Harlan County Dam & Reservoir
Updated 2026-10-28· 94% of month avg
Calamus Reservoir
Updated 2026-10-27· 113% of month avg· D0
Swanson Lake
lowUpdated 2026-10-27· 96% of month avg· D0
Merritt Reservoir
Updated 2026-10-27· 112% of month avg· D0
Lake Minatare
lowUpdated 2026-10-27· 66% of month avg· D3
Enders Reservoir
criticalUpdated 2026-10-27· 101% of month avg· D1
Hugh Butler Lake
lowUpdated 2026-10-27· 106% of month avg
Harry Strunk Lake
Updated 2026-10-27· 90% of month avg
Davis Creek Reservoir
Updated 2026-10-27· 99% of month avg
Box Butte Reservoir
criticalUpdated 2026-10-27· 68% of month avg· D2
Salt Creek Dam 18
Updated 2026-10-28· 97% of month avg
Salt Creek Dam 14
Updated 2026-10-28· 96% of month avg
Papillion Creek Dam 18
Updated 2026-10-28· 85% of month avg
Papillion Creek Dam 20
Updated 2026-10-28· 84% of month avg
Papillion Creek Dam 11
Updated 2026-10-27· 99% of month avg
Salt Creek Dam 4
Updated 2026-10-28· 92% of month avg
Salt Creek Dam 13
Updated 2026-10-28· 92% of month avg
Salt Creek Dam 12
Updated 2026-10-28· 97% of month avg
Salt Creek Dam 8
Updated 2026-10-28· 103% of month avg
Salt Creek Dam 10
Updated 2026-10-28· 99% of month avg
Salt Creek Dam 9
Updated 2026-10-28· 91% of month avg
Winters Creek Lake
lowUpdated 2026-10-26· 35% of month avg· D3
Papillion Creek Dam 16
Updated 2026-10-27· 93% of month avg
Salt Creek Dam 2
lowUpdated 2026-10-28· 84% of month avg
Salt Creek Dam 17
Updated 2026-10-28· 93% of month avg
Storage from official US gauges (USGS, USACE, Bureau of Reclamation, CDEC) and, in Texas, the Texas Water Development Board. Fill % uses design capacity from the National Inventory of Dams where available; Water Data for Texas lakes use that board's conservation capacity; a few sites without a match fall back to the 5-year maximum. "% of month avg" compares the current fill with the reservoir’s own average for this calendar month over its readings on record. D0–D4 is the U.S. Drought Monitor category of the ground at the reservoir’s coordinates on the latest weekly map — local conditions, not storage.
Major reservoirs — data pending
Lake Alice — data sourcing in progress
Storage is monitored by the US Bureau of Reclamation (BOR RISE), but the live feed is currently stale — we are working to restore it. Known capacities: Lake Alice (0.0 km³).
About reservoirs in Nebraska
As of October 28, 2026, the reservoirs we track across Nebraska that report live levels hold roughly 792 hm³ of water — about 50.2% of their combined capacity. Taken together, Nebraska's reservoirs are within their normal operating range.
Across the region, 2 reservoirs are at critically low levels and 5 are low. Salt Creek Dam 18 is the fullest at 93.3%, while Box Butte Reservoir is the lowest at 16.4%.
Over the most recent week on record, 2 reservoirs rose and 6 reservoirs fell across Nebraska.
Storage figures for Nebraska come from USGS · USACE · BOR · CDEC; the most recent reading is from October 28, 2026. Each reservoir below links to its own page with full history and seasonal context.
Nebraska at a glance
- Reservoirs tracked
- 26
- Average fill
- 50.2%
- Water stored
- 792 hm³
- Combined capacity
- 1,576 hm³
- At critically low levels
- 2
- Fullest
- Salt Creek Dam 18 (93.3%)
- Lowest
- Box Butte Reservoir (16.4%)
- Last updated
- October 28, 2026