Board mulls Cocolalla Lake level issue

SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners are resuming discussions today about its position on a proposed legislative resolution which seeks to establish a minimum lake level for Cocolalla Lake

The commission is slated to take the matter up again at 1:30 p.m. at the Bonner County Administration Building.

State Sen. Monty Pearce, a New Plymouth lawmaker who chairs the Senate’s Resources & Environment Committee, is asking the county to weigh in on a concurrent resolution that would set the minimum lake level at 2,207.77 feet.

The resolution has the support of the Cocolalla Lake Association and the Idaho Department of Water Resources, but concerns are being raised about the data behind the proposed lake elevation and its potential impact to other water users in the lake’s watershed.

“It wasn’t understood by the public that this was going to affect all water flowing into the lake. As soon as the lake drops below a certain level, you’re done if you have a water right that’s secondary,” said Kootenai County resident Larry Spencer, whose family owns property in the 60-square-mile watershed.

Spencer contends the ordinary high water mark for the lake is 2,203 feet based on 1929 datum. Even with the updated datum, Spencer said the lake’s ordinary high water mark still falls below the 2,207-foot level sought by the lake association.

Spencer is concerned that the minimum lake level would effectively block new development in the watershed or preclude farmers from drawing surface water for irrigation.

But county Planning Director Clare Marley said the minimum lake level would not hamstring county officials in approving new developments which rely on groundwater.

“The county itself couldn’t, wouldn’t and shouldn’t deny a subdivision application on a (water) quantity issue unless they can’t prove water at all,” she said.

Nobody from the lake association or the water resources board were present during Tuesday’s discussion.

“We need to hear from the Cocolalla Lake Association and we need to hear from the Idaho Water Resources board,” said commission Chairman Cornel Rasor.