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[NASA] Low Water at San Carlos Reservoir

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Earth Observatory
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  3. Low Water at San Carlos Reservoir
 


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June 7, 2023
May 22, 2026

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The reservoir appears lake-like and expansive in an image acquired in June 2023.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

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The reservoir is nearly empty by May 2026. The ***** River’s natural channel is now visible and flanked with green vegetation in what had been the bottom of the reservoir.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison
June 7, 2023May 22, 2026

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The reservoir appears lake-like and expansive in an image acquired in June 2023.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison
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The reservoir is nearly empty by May 2026. The ***** River’s natural channel is now visible and flanked with green vegetation in what had been the bottom of the reservoir.
NASA Earth Observatory/Michala Garrison

June 7, 2023

May 22, 2026


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Image Details

Little water remains in the San Carlos Reservoir in May 2026 (right) compared to fuller conditions in June 2023 (left). Images were captured by the
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(Operational Land Imager) on the
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satellites, respectively. NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison.

The

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is among the Southwest’s most important rivers, delivering water for people, farms, and wildlife while linking the snow-fed mountains of southwestern New Mexico to the desert lowlands of southwestern Arizona.

In wetter years, seasonal snowfall on the Mogollon Mountains and ****** Range provides much of the river’s spring flow and helps refill San Carlos Reservoir, which is formed by the

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. When filled to capacity, the reservoir is one of Arizona’s largest bodies of water.

However, in 2026, lackluster snowfall left the mountain snowpack in the ***** River watershed at

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of the 1991-2020 March median. The limited snowpack pushed April streamflow to
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of normal. By June, after mandatory water releases for downstream agriculture, the reservoir held less than
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of water.

The Landsat image above (right) shows the near-empty reservoir on May 22, 2026, when it stored 389 acre-feet of water—less than 1 percent full; the other image (left) shows the same area in June 2023, when it was about 60 percent full. The green vegetation growing along the river channel and reservoir edge includes a mixture of tamarisk, willow, cottonwood, sedges, and grasses.

Officials

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indefinitely on June 5, 2026, after the declining water levels contributed to low oxygen levels—
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—that killed virtually all of its fish. Species living in the reservoir included largemouth bass, ****** crappie, bluegill, channel catfish, flathead catfish, and several stocked species, including brown trout and rainbow trout. The decomposing fish may pose health risks to people attempting to boat or fish, the San Carlos Recreation and Wildlife Department warned.

The reservoir has hit similarly low water levels in the past, running out of water at least 20 times since it was filled in 1930, according to

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. Even when the dam and reservoir were first dedicated, there was enough grass growing on the dried reservoir bottom that humorist Will Rogers
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to President Calvin Coolidge: “If that was my lake, I’d mow it.”

Other years with major fish kills include 1976 and 2018. After more than 5 million fish died during a similar event in 1976, the ***** Herald

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that it took five years for the lake’s ecosystem to rebound.

The region is currently in the midst of a multi-year dry ******* that has left much of the ***** River’s headwaters in New Mexico in a state of

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,
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from the U.S. Drought Monitor.

However, the river’s flow is highly variable, and heavy rains during the coming wet season could help the reservoir recover. A

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released by NOAA in May 2026 projected a 33 to 50 percent chance that an above-average amount of rain would fall in the region that summer.
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in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific, which was
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in late spring 2026, can make heavy rains in the U.S. Southwest more likely.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Michala Garrison, using Landsat data from the 

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. Story by Adam Voiland.

Downloads

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June 7, 2023

JPEG (16.60 MB)

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May 22, 2026

JPEG (16.85 MB)

References & Resources

  • Arizona Silver Belt (2026, April 23)
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    . Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation (2015, March 4)
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    ! Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • ***** Herald (2026, June 7)
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    Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • Natural Resources Conservation Service (2026, April 1)
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    . Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • National Weather Service (2026, May 21)
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    . Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • National Integrated Drought Information System (2026, June 9)
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    . Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • National Weather Service (2026, May 4)
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    . Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • Pinal Central (2026, June 6)
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    . Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • San Carlos Recreation and Wildlife Department (2026, June 5)
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    . Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • True West (2016, February 1)
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    . Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • The University of Arizona (2026, May 28)
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    . Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • U.S. Geological Survey (2026, June 15)
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    . Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • USA Today (2026, June 9)
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    . Accessed June 16, 2026.
  • Western-Water (2026, June 8)
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    . Accessed June 16, 2026.

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