AHSAHKA, Idaho -- Reservoir managers will decrease Dworshak Dam discharge flows on Saturday, April 6, from the current 5,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) to 1,700 cfs, according to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers officials.
Saturday’s flow decrease will begin shortly after midnight and is needed to manage reservoir refill. The region’s snow pack and weather impact flood risk, and Dworshak has ample space in its reservoir for flood-risk-management operations, should inflows increase during this period. Additional decreases or increases may be necessary as rainfall and snow-melt inflow conditions change.
The change in discharge flows from the dam will have little effect on downstream water surface elevation in the Clearwater River, because of anticipated increased inflows throughout the Clearwater Basin, as forecasted by the National Weather Service’s Northwest River Forecast Center www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/rfc.
The Corps works with regional water managers, other agencies and tribes, and fish managers and hatcheries in joint efforts to keep total dissolved gasses below the Idaho State maximum threshold, when possible.
For safety, the public is advised to be aware of danger associated with fluctuating river flows and elevations. Outflow water is deep, cold and fast, so extreme caution should be used near river banks. Boaters, anglers and other people using waterways both in Dworshak Reservoir and below the dam on the Clearwater River are advised to be alert to changes up or down in water elevation and volume of flow. Current Dworshak water-management conditions can be viewed on the Walla Walla District website at www.nwd-wc.usace.army.mil/nww/rreports.htm.
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Release no. 19-028