Lake Darling Dam Opened
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| 4/17/2009 |
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| Some residents were concerned when they heard the Lake Darling Dam would be opened. With water levels going down across the area, the Lake Darling Dam was opened around 8:30am Friday morning. Thursday during a press conference, the Army Corps of Engineers said it would release 2150 cubic feet of water per second. After seeing the inflow this morning and talking to Canadian authorities, it was determined to cut it back to only 300 cubic feet. The intent is to alleviate downstream concerns. "The lower inflow forecast is good news and the flow increases they are going to see are going to be sustainable less than we were talking about even yesterday. So I don`t see that this is going to cause them any addition problems.," says Edward Eaton, Civil Engineer for the Corps of Engineers. The new projections and calculations show the Lake Darling Dam will be able to hold more water than expected allowing authorities to decide to release less water. "Right now we`re going to leave the dam as it is at 300 cubic feet per second through the weekend. If we start getting any kind of drastic changes in the prediction of water we can come out here and close it," says Kelly Hogan, Project Leader. The ice near the dam is not expected to create any ice jams downstream. "The ice is black. Its really rotted and weak and this ice is just going to erode and break-up," says Eaton. Downstream from the Lake Darling Dam are two other structures that need to be opened up. "To keep water moving through the system we needed to open both structures equivalent to what we opened the Lake Darling this morning," says Duane Anderson, Biological Technician. With water levels dropping in towns across the area, the attention has turned to getting the fish and wildlife impoundment refilled to its normal summer levels. "1597 is our summer supply level which is basically our operation level. It provides habitat for wildlife and also provides water supply for next summer," says Hogan. As long as Canada and mother nature cooperate, officials do not expect to make any changes until the middle of next week. Ward County is currently under consideration for the Presidential Flood Emergency Declaration, anyone experiencing flooding should report it. All reportings of flooding should go to the Red Cross Call Center which can be reached at 858-9366. |
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