Does anyone know why they are BLOWING water out of the Gorge at almost 3 times the 10 year average??
Just wondering??
[url "http://flaminggorge.water-data.com/"]http://flaminggorge.water-data.com/[/url]
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We're not in a drought. Lake is higher than average. Its that time of year. Double-peak daily flows are now the norm, and have been for a couple years now. (I hate those 4x daily fluctuations!) The days of steady 900 or 1500 all winter are gone. 2000-3000 is "normal". Wait a month or two, and you'll think its low now! Fishing on it at these flows is pretty good right now too. Plenty of room for everyone.
From the Bureau:
"Unregulated inflow into Flaming Gorge Reservoir during the month of February was 47 thousand acre-feet (kaf), or 106 percent of 1981-2010 average unregulated inflow. The March spring runoff forecast increased to 96% of average, along with the 92% of average snowpack totals in the Upper Green River Basin. In order to continue decreasing the reservoir elevation to meet the May 1 target, releases will be increased from an average daily release rate of 2,550 cfs/day to 2,650 cfs/day over a two-day period beginning Thursday, March 8, 2012. Releases will be maintained at 2,650 cfs/day until further notice.
The Colorado Basin River Forecast Center and Natural Resources Conservation Service have issued the joint water supply forecast for the April-July runoff season. The March forecast for April-July unregulated inflow volume is 945 kaf (96 percent of average), which is an increase of 6 percent from the previous forecast. This volume corresponds with the average classification within the 2006 Record of Decision. The unregulated inflow volumes and percent of average for March, April and May are forecasted to be 98 kaf (96%), 145 kaf (109%), and 240 kaf (98%), respectively."
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Thanks for the info Jim.
It will be interesting to see just how far they drop the lake elevation. I am still curious about this years fluctuation in outflow. At this time last year even with the incredible snow pack, they were only releasing 1,051 cfs, this year 2,654, and the last 10 year average 922.
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