Lake levels set to drop

POLSON – After a historically rainy October filled Flathead Lake to its brim, water levels are quickly dropping with inflow tapering off and the Selis Ksanka Qlispe Dam returning to full operating capacity.

According to the November operations report from Energy Keepers Inc., the company which operates the dam under the ownership of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, all units at the hydroelectric facility have returned to service and lake levels will fall one foot every 10 days during December.

Energy Keepers Director of Power Management Travis Togo said operators expect to drop the lake to four or five feet below full pool by the end of the month.

With only two of three units in service earlier this fall, the dam’s turbines were maxed-out trying keep up with the massive amount of water pouring into the lake, according to Energy Keepers’ October operations report.

Precipitation levels at the dam site were 347 percent above normal for October, the report states. Such inflow pushed back the goal of dropping lake levels by Halloween in order to mitigate shoreline erosion during fall storms. While flow rates remained above average in November, precipitation was less impressive, registering at half the amount of average, the report states.

“The inflows have dried up,” Togo said. “We are actively evacuating the reservoir.”