Corps gears up for flexible lake ops
SANDPOINT — Flexible winter power operations are get underway on Lake Pend Oreille, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The agency’s Seattle District Water Management bureau took back control over the Albeni Falls Dam on Wednesday in order to start storing water over the holiday weekend. The corps is storing a little more than 0.1 feet per day with the intention of reaching an elevation of 2,052 feet.
The operation will decrease releases to 13,000 cubic feet per second starting today. The dam had been releasing at a rate of 16,000 cfs prior to the commencement of winter power ops.
The corps has also been given the go-ahead to increase the lake’s level above 2,051.5 feet. Since Nov. 18, the corps has been operating the lake between 2,051 feet to 2,051.5 feet at the Hope gauge during kokanee spawning, according to Joel Fenolio, the corps’ Upper Columbia’s senior water manager.
"With the peak of the kokanee spawning now past (sic), there is flexibility to store water into Lake Pend Oreille up to an elevation of 2,056 feet for Flexible Winter Power Operations,” Fenolio said in an email announcing rising lake levels.
Fenoilio said there is no active request to the corps from the Bonneville Power Administration for stored water and the current operating range will be 2,051-2,052 feet.
The flexible winter power operations, known as FWPO in regulatory jargon, allows the lake to be filled and drafted three times between 2,051-2,056 feet from January to March.
The operation creates additional power production opportunities, although it is wildly unpopular with waterfront landowners in Bonner County. There is concern fluctuating levels will hamper lake access, exacerbate erosion and cause damage to docks, water intakes and other infrastructure.
The Idaho Lakes Commission also has concerns and wants to hear from landowners if they discover damage as a result of FWPO.
“The Lakes Commission continues to question what the unknown impacts of FWPO operations may be. If you have infrastructure damage or excessive erosion over the next three months, please document it and notify the commission or the corps of these impacts immediately,” Erin Mader, the commission’s coordinator, said in an email.