Flathead Lake may not quite reach full-pool mark

Because of a low mountain snowpack and spring runoff forecast, it is now “questionable” whether Flathead Lake will refill to its full-pool elevation by the traditional June 15 date.

“Estimates using the current projected runoff indicate that achieving the inflow necessary to fill the lake to 2,893 feet by June 15 is questionable,” according to a recent press release from PPL Montana, which operates Kerr Dam south of the lake.

However, it appears the lake will get very close to full pool.

“Present estimates project the lake elevation to

be approximately 2,892.2 feet by June 15 and 2,892.85 feet by June 30, while staying on authorized minimum outflows” at the dam, the release states.

Representatives from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, PPL Montana, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bonneville Power Administration conferred on the current conditions on April 12 and will meet again next month.

The current outflow at the dam is 3,400 cubic feet per second and the lake elevation is 2,885.2, or about 7.8 feet from full pool. Typically, a flood control elevation of 2,883 feet is targeted for April 15, but due to this year’s low snowpack, the elevation has been kept higher.

The April runoff forecast for Flathead Lake is 66 percent of average, which has decreased from the 70 percent forecast for March.