Deep winter pool set

SANDPOINT — Lake Pend Oreille will be drafted to a winter pool of 2,051 feet above sea level, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced.

The corps’ water management section expects to reach a level at or below 2,054 feet by the end of this month. The winter pool should be achieved between Nov. 8-15.

The lake level was at 2,059.76 on Thursday.

It’s the second consecutive year the lake will be drawn down to a deeper winter pool.

Inflows are typically at their lowest levels at this time, although fall rains and other considerations may require some outflow adjustments to reach the 2,051-foot elevation, said Amy Reese, a hydraulic engineer with the corps.

The corps expects to hold the lake at 2,051-2,051.5 feet through the end of kokanee spawning season or Dec. 31, whichever comes first.

At a Columbia Basin technical management team meeting on Wednesday, the Bonneville Power Administration submitted a request for Albeni Falls Dam to be operated from the end of kokanee spawning through April 1 within the full range of operating flexibility — 2,051-2,056 feet.

A decision on the request is pending.