POLSON — What's being described as a "trade off" will allow Flathead Lake to see higher water levels for the first 45 days of the summer.
MTN previously reported that the lake would not reach full pool this summer and water levels would be two feet lower than normal by July, with Energry Keepers, Inc. officials citing an unusually hot and dry spring for the lower levels.
EKI announced on Friday that an agreement had been reached with the Secretary of the Interior to allow for the changes.
The deal will result in a 45% reduction in the license required minimum flows from SKQ Dam, which will impact fishery and electricity production for the rest of June.
According to a news release, the changes will be offset by a change in the water volume of the lower river during the last half of July and August.
August lake levels are still projected to decrease to nearly three feet below full pool by August 31.
Watch previous coverage: Flathead Lake to see lower water levels this summer
“We received approval from the Secretary of the Interior to cut our required instream flows below the usual levels,” said EKI CEO Brian Lipscomb. “This sacrifice is forecasted to keep lake levels within twelve inches of full pool through the end of July. This will come at a financial cost for operations during the early summer, serve the minimums of robust fisheries, and allow more boat dock users to remain viable during a busy summer season.”
EKI worked with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes' to come up with a proposal. The Tribal Council voted Thursday to move ahead and seek an agreement with the U.S. Department of the Interior.
“Under challenging situations, we applaud our staff for presenting a solution,” said Council Chairman Michael Dolson. “We supported this action to be good stewards of the resources, good economic partners, and also good neighbors.”
“The weighing out of all these different options really involved contemplating where we're at with the conditions that we're facing, what our future looks like as these conditions continue to feel like they're worsening for us and how we navigate them," Lipscomb told MTN in an interview. "Looking at the impacts to fisheries in the lower river downstream, looking at impacts to energy generation, not only from the facility you see behind me, but from the 18 facilities that this water runs through.”
Lake users are being cautioned that lakefront boat storage and dock access may be affected if the forecasted water level are realized.
“These operational changes come with a financial and ecological sacrifice that will impact power generation at SKQ,” Lipscomb noted. “We plan to make up some of that difference in August. The lake will draft beginning in August down to the original projection levels of three feet below full pool. We want everyone to know that now so they can prepare accordingly.”
Additional information can be found here.
