March 18, 2010
Drafting of Flathead Lake ends, runoff expected to fill lake
By Jim Blow
Valley Journal
POLSON — Snowpack and stream runoff continues to be below normal, but PPL Montana expects the runoff through July to be sufficient to refill Flathead Lake to full elevation, which is 2,893 feet above sea level.
The current outflow of Kerr Dam is about 5,000 cubic feet per second and the lake elevation was at 2,884.69 feet on March 16, which is 8.33 feet below full elevation.
As of March 11, the snowpack level was just 71 percent of normal and the stream flow was 66 percent of normal. The Kerr Project is operated taking into account the March final volume runoff for the April through July period snowpack and natural stream flows. The final March runoff forecast for Flathead Lake is 70 percent of average, which has decreased from February's projected 76 percent average.
In comparison, the snowpack was 86 percent at this time last year.
However, PPL anticipates that, unless circumstances change in the near future, Flathead Lake may not be drafted much deeper this year. PPL predicts the current projected runoff appears likely to provide the necessary inflow for the lake to refill. Weather and changes in snowmelt obviously impacts that prediction. |
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