The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had directed PPL Montana, which has the license to operate Kerr Dam, to keep the lake below full pool well past the June 15 date when the lake has usually refilled, due to flooding concerns caused by this winter and spring's heavy and lingering snowpack.
The elevation of the lake was at 2,892.53 feet late Monday afternoon, or a hair under 6 inches below the full pool level of 2,893 feet.
Mullowney said PPL Montana aims for about 2,892.8 feet during the summer months.
“We should be near it by the Fourth of July weekend,” she said. “I'll be watching the flows carefully, but the snowpack has gone down quite a bit.”
Still, Mullowney said, the snowpack remains 260 percent higher than normal in the Flathead for this time of year.
“But that's because it's usually all melted off by now,” she added. “We want to make sure we don't get the lake too full.”
PPL Montana's license says the lake level can't go above 2,893 feet, Mullowney said.
It also calls for the lake to be near that point by June 15 unless there are flood control concerns, as happened this year. Flathead was still 1 1/2 feet below full pool on June 15, and has been inching up since.
The Army Corps of Engineers consulted with PPL Montana, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bonneville Power Administration before issuing its instructions on flood control this year.
PPL Montana and the Corps collaborate on flood control aspects of the Kerr Project pursuant to the terms of a Memorandum of Understanding, which has been incorporated into the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license for the dam.
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