Your PUD
News Release
Lake Chelan runoff forecast still at record low
Chelan County PUD
News Release
4/11/2005
Recent precipitation has increased the snowpack in the Lake Chelan drainage, but all reporting sites are still below the record lows reported in 1977.
As a result, the April 1 runoff forecast is 38 percent of average. Actual runoff in the record low year of 1977, was 46 percent of average.
Even so, there will be enough runoff to meet the federal license requirement for refilling Lake Chelan by July 1 and, in combination with the District’s other two dams, meet power needs for Chelan County PUD customers.
Lake Chelan was 10 feet higher than normal on April 1. Despite the extra water in the lake, generation at the Lake Chelan Hydro Project will be significantly reduced from now through June to make sure the lake can refill. The turbines have been shut down periodically since Jan. 20 to conserve water. Generation will be cut back in April, May and June to approximately 35 percent of normal, said Janet Jaspers, PUD power resource coordinator.
A two-week maintenance outage that had been scheduled for fall has been moved to this month so the work can be done since the plant is being shut down to conserve water.
Columbia River runoff forecasts are closer to normal for the January-July period. The Northwest River Forecast Center’s April 8 runoff forecast calls for 83 percent of average flows at Grand Coulee through July. Chelan County PUD operates two large hydroelectric dams on the Columbia: Rocky Reach and Rock Island dams.
Forecasts for other local area river basins are also well below normal. The Okanogan River forecast is for 50 percent of the normal April - September runoff, and the Wenatchee River is forecast for 54 percent of normal for April – September.
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For more information contact Janet Jaspers, PUD power resource coordinator, at 661.4548.
Kimberlee Craig
Public Information Officer
661.4320
679.6958, cell
kimc@chelanpud.org