County objects to minimum level on Cocolalla Lake
<p>Bonner County commissioners are recommending against setting a minimum level for Cocolalla Lake. (Photo by KEITH KINNAIRD)</p>
SANDPOINT — Bonner County commissioners are recommending against the setting of a minimum level for Lake Cocolalla unless further study of the request is conducted.
“I don’t believe the Legislature has enough information (to make a decision),” commission Chairman Cornel Rasor said on Wednesday.
The board, which was asked by state Sen. Monty Pearce to weigh in on the Idaho Department of Water Resources application, contends not enough data exists about historic lake levels and how long the 2,207-foot level can be sustained.
“We’re trying to make a decision on bad data,” said Commissioner Mike Nielsen.
The mysterious destruction of a beaver dam at the south end of the lake has also not been factored into IDWR’s analysis, commissioners said. The dam’s removal may have caused the lake’s level to drop.
The setting of a minimum lake level was prompted by a request from the Cocolalla Lake Association, which was concerned that a proposed development overlooking the lake would consume enough surface water to affect its level.
“We believe it’s necessary for the lake to be held as high as possible,” said Chuck Gladish, president of the lake association.
But the request has raised fears of unintended consequences. There is concern that a minimum lake level would thwart development in the watershed and leave those with junior water rights high and dry.
Bob Graham, a member of the water resources board, told commissioners that the minimum lake level would not affect those with senior water rights.
“But it might affect somebody coming in later with a large use,” he said.
Norm Semanko, an Eagle attorney representing opponents of a minimum lake level, said there are no scientific studies of a minimum lake level that will sustain water quality or fisheries. There are rudimentary measurements from the early 1990s and from 2004 to 2009. The target elevation was selected from a low-water year, but records indicate the lake has fallen below that level.
“It wasn’t the lowest flow in history,” Semanko said of the 2,207-foot elevation.