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With cooler temperatures in the forecast, the drawdown of the Milltown Reservoir will resume Monday.

The large radial gate on Milltown Dam will slide up just a bit to allow the reservoir to drop by about 1 to 2 inches a day over the next week or two, said Russ Forba, the Environmental Protection Agency's Milltown project manager.

The hopes are that by the last week of September, the reservoir will have been drawn down by at least 10 feet.

The drawdown is needed to facilitate work planned to shore up several upstream bridges and a large sediment dewatering test Envirocon plans to start later this month, Forba said.

That work is all part of the first phase of the multimillion-dollar Milltown Reservoir Superfund cleanup, which includes the eventual removal of Milltown Dam and restoration of the confluence of the Blackfoot and Clark Fork rivers.

The initial drawdown of the reservoir began in June and was stopped in July after caged fish died from bacterial infections likely caused by a combination of turbidity created by the drawdown and warm water temperatures.

New monitoring cages have been placed both up and down stream of the reservoir in preparation of the upcoming drawdown, Forba said.

“We'll be monitoring this drawdown closely as well,” Forba said.

While there is the potential for increased turbidity in the Clark Fork River downstream from the dam, Forba said cooler water temperatures should buffer any impact on fish populations.

“There should be a minimal impact of fish during the drawdown, even with the probable increase in turbidity,” he said. “If we start having an impact on the caged fish, we'll slow down the drawdown.”

Work on the bridges and dewatering test is expected to begin the week of Sept. 25.

The Clark Fork River below the dam to the railroad bridge and upstream to Turah is now closed to the public. The same restrictions are in force on the Blackfoot River upstream to just above the old Stimson Dam.

The closure includes the Bonner Development Group Park and the area around the dam, including the small park there.

To enter those areas, people need to obtain permission from either the EPA, U.S. Corps of Engineers, Envirocon or NorthWestern Energy.

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