Colorado River level at Hoover Dam
Nevada · Fishing & wading
Measured at USGS 09421500 — COLORADO RV BLW HOOVER DAM, AZ-NV · NWS forecast point BHDA3
Reading taken · as of 8 min ago
About normal for the date
At 42.48 ft, this gauge is running 94% of normal for mid-September — close to the 45 ft median USGS has recorded for this date across 8 years of record (2017–2026).
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Flow history at Hoover Dam
Daily values from USGS 09421500, updated every 15 to 60 minutes; NWS forecast for BHDA3 reissued through the day. Provisional.
About Colorado River at Hoover Dam
In Nevada, below Lake Mead. Releases can change the flow by hundreds of CFS in an hour with no rain in the basin — check it the morning you go, not the night before.
Reservoir feeding this stretch
Flow here is set by releases from Lake Mead. A full pool usually means more water on its way down.
Colorado River at Hoover Dam — common questions
3 questions
How do releases from Lake Mead affect this stretch?
Directly and fast. When the dam generates, flow here can climb by an order of magnitude within the hour, with no rain anywhere in the basin. That sudden release is the real hazard on a tailwater. The pool level is on lakelvl.com, linked below.
Is Colorado River at Hoover Dam high or low for this time of year?
The USGS median gage height for mid-September here is 45 ft, from 8 years of record (2017–2026). Today is 94% of it. The comparison is what makes the raw number mean anything: the same reading is a drought on one river and a flood on another.
How often does this reading update?
USGS transmits from gauge 09421500 every 15 to 60 minutes, and the National Weather Service reissues the flood forecast for BHDA3 a few times a day — more often when the river is rising. This page refreshes from both when you open it. The timestamp is in the gauge's local time.