Flathead Lake expected to reach full pool this week
At the start of every summer, Flathead Lake residents and business owners eagerly await June 15 — the date the lake is expected to reach full pool at a depth of 2,983 feet and summer recreating can officially begin.
Most years that deadline is met, but every once in a while, when snowmelt is abnormally low, lake levels may fall slightly below full pool, causing Montana’s fleeting summers to become a little more so for lake-goers. But for summer 2020, Energy Keepers Chief Commercial Officer Travis Togo said residents, business owners and tourists can expect the lake to be at full pool by Monday and remain at full pool throughout the duration of summer.
“We had an absolutely huge winter here in the Flathead River Basin this year,” Togo said. “Even though it may not seem like it because the valley didn’t receive the same level of snow it did last winter, the snow levels in the mountains were enormous.”
Togo said as of Thursday, mountain snowpack in some areas was as high as 152% of average. He said because the resources that feed the freshwater lake are so swollen, he and other stakeholders have been exercising caution while refilling the lake.
“We have the responsibility of managing irrigation, fisheries areas and flood risk, especially upstream of the lake,” Togo said. “Each year when we fill the lake we have to balance different competing interests. So if you own a home on the lakeshore, for example, you obviously want it full in the summer so you can launch your boat and recreate, but the people up stream probably don’t care as much about the lake; they primarily want to make sure that we don’t flood their property.”
As of Thursday morning, Flathead Lake’s water level was almost at 2,892 feet, according to the United States Geological Survey’s website. So between now and Monday, the final inches will be added — an amount that may seem miniscule, but can sometimes determine how successful of a season businesses have.
“Even if that lake is just a foot under what it should be, businesses in areas like Bigfork Bay and the Polson Bay area will be impacted,” said Wayne Schile. “And this year is of particular interest because businesses are coming off of the COVID-19 shutdown and are already hurting.”
Schile is the president of Shore, an organization that strives to make sure Flathead Lake is at full pool from June 15 to Sept. 15 each year for businesses and property owners.
“The property on this lake is some of the highest-priced property in Montana. The taxes that property owners pay are astronomical compared to other areas, so there is a constant expectation that the lake will be at full pool,” said Schile, who is also a former publisher of the Billings Gazette.
According to Togo, Energy Keepers is the primary entity tasked with filling the lake each year. Energy Keepers is a corporation of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT). Other stakeholders include the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the Hungry Horse Dam, and the Army Corps of Engineers.
The lake level and its outflow are regulated by Séliš Ksanka Ql’ispé Dam, formerly Kerr Dam, located near Polson in the Lower Flathead River. The dam, which generates enough electricity to supply at least 100,000 homes annually, is owned by CSKT, the first tribes in the nation to own and operate a major hydropower facility.
Reporter Kianna Gardner can be reached at 758-4407 or kgardner@dailyinterlake.com