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Water Levels: Lake Minnetonka and Gray's Bay Dam

Questions about water levels, canoeing, or the MCWD's operation of the Gray's Bay dam? Learn more about Gray's Bay Dam.

You can view real-time water level readings of Lake Minnetonka here and Minnehaha Creek here, as part of a partnership between MCWD and the U.S. Geological Survey. Please note, the USGS refers to creek flow as "discharge" on their site.

Ideal creek flows for paddling are between 75 and 150 cubic feet per second (cfs). We do not recommend paddling when the creek's flow is higher than 150 cfs. Conditions can change rapidly, especially after rainfall. We recommend using the real-time flow at Hiawatha Ave to gauge how fast the creek is flowing in the lower half of the creek, and the Gray's Bay Dam discharge to gauge how fast the creek is flowing in the upper half of the creek. Learn more about paddling the creek.

Follow Gray's Bay Dam on Twitter for regular updates on water level and dam discharge.

Most recent reading (May 21, 2019)
Lake Minnetonka: 929.92 feet | Gray's Bay Dam: 250 CFS
Date Lake Level (feet above sea level) Dam Discharge (cubic feet per second) Explanation
May 21, 2019 929.92 250 Dam discharge increased to 250 cfs as the Minnehaha Creek headwaters wetland has storage capacity and in effort to mitigate upper streams inflow to the lake while balancing carrying capacity in Minnehaha Creek continues.
May 20, 2019 929.93 225 Dam discharge remains at 225 cfs in an effort to mitigate water coming into Lake Minnetonka from upper streams while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.
May 19, 2019 929.88 225 At 2:45 pm dam discharged was increased to 225 cfs in an effort to mitigate water coming into Lake Minnetonka from upper streams while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.
May 17, 2019 929.81 75 Dam discharge remains at 75 cfs to create storage capacity in Minnehaha Creek ahead of 2.5 inches of rain being forecast Friday PM (5/17) through Sunday PM (5/19).
May 16, 2019 929.86 75 Dam discharge remains at 75 cfs to create storage capacity in Minnehaha Creek ahead of 3 inches of rain being forecast Saturday (5/18) through Monday (5/20).
May 15, 2019 929.80 75 At 4:30 PM dam discharge was reduced from 300 cfs to 75 cfs to create storage capacity in Minnehaha Creek ahead of 3 inches of rain being forecast Saturday (5/18) through Monday (5/20).
May 13, 2019 929.83 300 Dam discharge increased to 300 cfs to take advantage of dry weather ahead of more than an inch of rain forecast Friday (5/17) through Sunday (5/19).
May 10, 2019 929.87 250 Dam discharge remains at 250 cfs in an effort to mitigate inflow to Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.
May 9, 2019 929.87 250 Discharge raised to 250 cfs in an effort to mitigate inflow to Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.
May 8, 2019 929.68 150 Dam discharge was decreased to 150 cfs in an effort to create storage capacity in Minnehaha Creek, ahead of an increased forecast of 1.5 inches of rain over May 8-9.
May 7, 2019 929.75 200 Dam discharge was decreased to 200 cfs in an effort to create storage capacity in Minnehaha Creek, which is currently running bank full, ahead of 1 inch of rain forecast rain May 8-9.
May 6, 2019 929.79 250 Dam discharge remains at 250 cfs in an effort to gain storage in Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.
May 3, 2019 929.85 250 Dam discharge remains at 250 cfs to create storage at the Minnehaha Creek Headwaters wetland due to the wetland and Lake Minnetonka nearing the same elevation.
May 1, 2019 929.87 250 Dam discharge temporarily reduced to 250 cfs to create storage at the Minnehaha Creek Headwaters wetland due to the wetland and Lake Minnetonka nearing the same elevation.
April 29, 2019 929.88 300 Dam discharge remains at 300 cfs in an effort to gain storage in Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.
April 26, 2019 929.96 300 As minimal rain is forecast discharge remains at 300 cfs in an effort to mitigate inflow to Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.
April 25, 2019 929.97 300 As minimal rain is forecast discharge remains at 300 cfs in an effort to mitigate inflow to Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.
April 24, 2019 929.99 300 Dam discharge remains at 300 cfs on Wednesday, April 24, 2019. Water levels will be re-assessed tomorrow morning ahead of Saturday's forecast rain.
April 23, 2019 929.99 300 Dam discharge raised to 300 cfs as the forecast is dry through Friday.
April 22, 2019 929.99 250 Discharge remains at 250 cfs in an effort to mitigate inflow to Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.
April 21, 2019 929.95 250 Discharge remains at 250 cfs in an effort to mitigate inflow to Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.
April 19, 2019 929.98 250 Discharge remains at 250 cfs in an effort to mitigate inflow to Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.
April 18, 2019 929.98 250 Dam discharge raised to 250 cfs in an effort to mitigate inflow to Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.**
April 17, 2019 929.86 150 Discharge remains at 150 cfs. Water levels will be assessed after today's rain.**
April 16, 2019 929.87 150 Dam discharge increased slightly to 150 cfs as forecast rain for Wednesday (4/17) and Thursday(4/18) has decreased to 0.5-1 inch.**
April 15, 2019 929.85 125 Dam discharge reduced to 125 cfs in an effort to create storage capacity in Minnehaha Creek, which is currently running bank full, ahead of 1- 1.5 inches forecast rain April 17-18**
April 12, 2019 929.87 225 Dam discharge remains at 225 cfs in an effort to mitigate continued inflow into Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.**
April 11, 2019 929.77 225 Due to most of the precipitation being forecast as snow the dam discharge remains at 225 cfs in an effort to mitigate continued inflow into Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.**
April 10, 2019 929.76 225 Due to most of the precipitation being forecast as snow, the dam discharge remains at 225 cfs in an effort to mitigate continued inflow into Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek**
April 9, 2019 929.78 225 Dam discharge remains at 225 cfs in an effort to mitigate continued inflow into Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.**
April 8, 2019 929.78 225 Dam discharge remains at 225 cfs in an effort to mitigate continued inflow into Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek**
April 7, 2019 929.78 225 Dam discharge increased to 225 cfs in an effort to mitigate continued inflow into Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek
April 5, 2019 929.68 150 Dam discharge remains at 150 cfs ahead of over a half inch inch of rain being forecast from Saturday (4/6) through Sunday (4/7) to create storage capacity in Minnehaha Creek.**
April 4, 2019 929.67 150 Dam discharge was decreased to 150 cfs ahead of a half inch inch of rain being forecast over Saturday (4/6) and Sunday (4/7) to create storage capacity in Minnehaha Creek.**
April 3, 2019 929.69 225 Dam discharge remains at 225 cfs in an effort to mitigate continued inflow into Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.**
April 2, 2019 929.70 225 Dam discharge remains at 225 cfs in an effort to mitigate continued inflow into Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.**
April 1, 2019 929.70 225 Dam discharge increased to 225 cfs in an effort to mitigate continued inflow into Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.**
March 29, 2019 929.69 200 Dam discharge remains at 200 cfs in an effort to mitigate continued inflow into Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.**
March 28, 2019 929.70 200 Discharge was increased to 200 cfs in an effort to mitigate continued inflow into Lake Minnetonka while trying to balance the maximum carrying capacity of Minnehaha Creek.**
March 27, 2019 929.64 150 Discharge raised to help mitigate water coming into Lake Minnetonka but also to moderate flow into Minnehaha Creek in an effort to balance the water budget across the entire watershed.**
March 25, 2019 929.58 100 Dam discharged was increased to 100 cfs in an effort to mitigate water coming into Lake Minnetonka from upper streams and snowmelt and because water levels in Minnehaha Creek have leveled off.**
March 24, 2019 929.55 100 Dam discharged was increased to 100 cfs in an effort to mitigate water coming into Lake Minnetonka from upper streams and snowmelt and because water levels in Minnehaha Creek have leveled off.**
March 22, 2019 929.45 50 Gray's Bay Dam is discharging 50 cfs in an effort to mitigate water coming into Lake Minnetonka from upper streams and snowmelt.**
March 21, 2019 929.40 50 The dam was opened now that the threat of spring flooding and ice jams on Minnehaha Creek has subsided to moderate the amount of water flowing into Lake Minnetonka from its upper streams.**

* Flow taken at McGinty Road because water levels were too high to measure at Gray's Bay dam

** Unofficial Lake Minnetonka water level reading due to ice still on the lake

You can view lake levels from 1906 to 2012 either as an Excel Spreadsheet or a graph.
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