Your PUD
News Release
Warning - spill begins today in Chelan River Gorge
Chelan County PUD
News Release
5/31/2005
Chelan County PUD will begin spilling water through the Chelan River Gorge at 10 a.m., Tuesday, May 31. Temperatures in the 90s this past weekend raised inflows to Lake Chelan, making it necessary to send water through the spillgates at the Lake Chelan Dam.
People are warned to stay out of the Chelan River Gorge at all times.
Water will be sent through the spill gates at a rate of 500 cubic feet per second (cfs) starting at 10 a.m. today, and will increase to 1,000 cfs at noon. Spill is expected to continue through the week.
The level of Lake Chelan was 1,099.92 feet above sea level this morning. Full is 1,100 feet. Both generating units at the Lake Chelan powerhouse are running round the clock.
This year’s April 1 runoff forecast for the Lake Chelan Basin was 38 percent of normal for the April – July time period. Due to the recent above-average precipitation, the runoff will be in the range of 50-55 percent of normal, which is considerably higher than the April 1 forecast.
When flows peak, usually, in June, Northwest dams must spill water for headwater control. An early runoff combined with above-average precipitation and early hot weather makes it necessary to spill for headwater control much earlier than in a normal year.
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For more information contact Janet Jaspers, power resource analyst, at 661.4548
Kimberlee Craig
Public Information Officer
661.4320, direct line
679.6958, cell
kimc@chelanpud.org