Your PUD
Lake Chelan Lake Levels
Chelan County PUD began spilling water through the Chelan River Gorge on Monday, June 8, as required by the federal license and operating objectives for the Lake Chelan Hydro Project. Timing could change depending on conditions.
People are warned to stay out of the narrow, dangerous gorge at all times, especially during spill.
Spill will begin at varying amounts to test the impact of water flow on new fish habitat being built in the lower section of the river near the powerhouse at Chelan Falls.
The goal is to keep spill at 3,000 cfs or less at any one time during this season to monitor impacts on improvements to the bypass channel built as part of the fish habitat work.
Under the terms of its federal license, Chelan County PUD shall make a reasonable effort to comply with the lake level management practices defined in the Lake Level Plan in Settlement Agreement License Article 405.
Actual lake elevations may vary significantly from expected averages during drawdown and refill periods. Many factors affect lake level including precipitation, temperature, snowpack conditions, and the amount and timing of spring runoff, as well as compliance with the hydro project’s federal operating license and environmental objectives. In addition, there is the goal to meet target lake elevations May through October.
Beginning Oct. 1, 80 cfs minimum will flow year-round into the gorge as mandated by the new 50-year license for the Lake Chelan hydro project granted in 2006.
The PUD expects to continue generating at full capacity.
Future Operations
Seven operating objectives in the Lake Chelan Hydro Operating License, as well as lake elevation targets, are considered when planning generation and refill. One of two generating units is out of operation for modernization until late August or early September. Generation is scheduled at a maximum continuous output of 29 mW into the near future. The next lake elevation target is 1098.0 feet on July 1. Spill in the Chelan Gorge started June 8 and will vary as needed to control the elevation of Lake Chelan.
Saturday, July 4, 2009 05:13 PM: 1099.75 feet above sea level
For the 10 days ending 7/3/2009, the daily lake elevation (in feet) has been:
| Date | Level | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Jun 24 | 1099.22 | 0.16 |
| Jun 25 | 1099.36 | 0.14 |
| Jun 26 | 1099.46 | 0.10 |
| Jun 27 | 1099.47 | 0.01 |
| Jun 28 | 1099.53 | 0.06 |
| Jun 29 | 1099.62 | 0.09 |
| Jun 30 | 1099.65 | 0.03 |
| Jul 01 | 1099.64 | -0.01 |
| Jul 02 | 1099.65 | 0.01 |
| Jul 03 | 1099.72 | 0.07 |
To see data points, first click on the chart and then hover over a spot on the line.
You can also view larger versions of this chart or a year-to-date chart.