County lifts 500-foot no-wake zone

SANDPOINT — Bonner County’s enhanced no-wake zone restrictions are being relaxed as floodwaters recede.

The county extended the no-wake zone on local waterways from 200 feet to 500 feet on May 15 due to elevated water levels on Lake Pend Oreille, in addition to the Pend Oreille and Clark Fork rivers. County commissioners lifted the extended the enhanced wake zone rule on Tuesday.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers reported on Friday that the lake’s elevation at the Hope gauge was at 2,061.7 feet and outflow at Albeni Falls Dam was at 72,000 cubic feet per second. The projected elevation range this weekend is 2,061-2,062 feet.

Operators at Albeni Falls Dam discontinued free-flow operations on Wednesday and is continuing to reduce outflow to stabilize the lake’s level, the corps said in an operations update on Friday. Outflow at the dam is scheduled decrease to 64,000 cfs by 8 a.m. this morning.

“The lake elevation has temporarily decreased below 2,062 feet while outflow is ramping down. The lake elevation is expected to remain in the 2061- to 2062-foot range over the weekend, and then gradually increase back above 2,062 feet next week. The planned operation for the summer is to hold Lake Pend Oreille within the normal summer range, 2062 to 2,062.5 feet,” Jon Moen of the corps’ Hydraulics & Hydrology Branch of the corps’ Water Management Section in Seattle said in the operations update.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.