Open the gates
<p>Kerr Dam has plenty of water flowing through its gates as summer nears.</p>
Representatives from PPL Montana, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Bonneville Power Administration met on June 12 to talk about the current and projected operation of Kerr Dam. Currently the outflow from the dam is 31,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) and the lake elevation on June 14 was 2,892.44 feet, which is about half a foot below full lake elevation.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for flood control, has requested an operating level of 2,892.6 feet by June 15 with an increase to full pool as potential flood conditions continue to decline.
Representatives from PPL Montana, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and the Bonneville Power Administration met on June 12 to talk about the current and projected operation of Kerr Dam. Currently the outflow from the dam is 31,500 cubic feet per second (cfs) and the lake elevation on June 14 was 2,892.44 feet, which is about half a foot below full lake elevation.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is responsible for flood control, has requested an operating level of 2,892.6 feet by June 15 with an increase to full pool as potential flood conditions continue to decline.
Kerr Dam projections are based on volume runoff forecasts for June through July from the current snowpack and stream flows. The National Weather Service indicated that runoff is about 111 percent of normal and the snowpack is about 180 percent of normal this year.
The stream flow for May was 96 percent of normal. Additional operation changes could be made to respond to weather conditions.