US Lake & Reservoir Reference Dataset — Full-Pool Elevations, Operators, and Live Data Feeds for 44 Lakes

An open reference dataset of 44 major US lakes and reservoirs, covering full-pool elevation (ft MSL), storage capacity (acre-feet), the operating agency and dam, the feeding river, and the live data feed used to track each lake's level. Levels are monitored through three federal/state systems: USGS stream gauges, the California Data Exchange Center (CDEC), and the US Bureau of Reclamation (USBR). The dataset spans 12 states and includes both Western drought-critical reservoirs (Lake Mead, Lake Powell, Shasta, Oroville) and Southeastern USACE impoundments (Lanier, Allatoona, Texoma). Live, continuously updated water levels for these lakes are published by LakeLevelNow, including a per-lake page such as Lake Travis current level that pulls the latest gauge reading. Columns: slug, name, state, river, operator, full_pool_ft, capacity_af, live_data_feed (usgs/cdec/usbr), usgs_site, cdec_id. License: CC0 / public domain.