Here We Go Again: Boise River Flows Set To Increase Yet Again

The Boise river flow at one time this spring made it to a high of 8650cfs which is the 2^nd highest in history. . Since then the flow has slowly dropped to around 8000cfs, which is still 1000cfs above flood stage. But starting next week the flow will go even higher

The Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will continue to increase flows from Lucky Peak starting Tuesday, April 11 due to this year’s large snow pack (142% above normal) and continued above-normal precipitation in the Boise River drainage area.

As these conditions persist there will continue to be significantly less space in the Boise River reservoirs than is required.  I wrote earlier in my blog about the fact that there is over 2 million acre feet of water in the mountains around the reservoirs that feed into the Boise River and only around 320,000 acre feet of space available.

Flows through the City of Boise in the river will increase from the current flow of around 8,000 cubic-feet-per-second (cfs) on Tuesday April 11^th  to 8,500 cfs on Wednesday, April 12th.

These flow increases are planned as long as the work being done in and around the river to re-enforce river banks and the gravel pits in the Eagle area are completed

Once again, these increased releases, that are currently causing minor flooding problems, are absolutely necessary to help reduce the risk of even more severe flooding later in the spring, especially if the Treasure Valley receives a spell of especially warm weather or rain.

Keep in mind that at 8,500 cfs, we can see additional sections of the Boise Greenbelt be flooded and under water, plus erosion of river banks will continue to be a major problem. M

For real-time Boise River flows check out the Bureau of Reclamation web site http://www.usbr.gov/pn/hydromet/rtindex/boise.html.

Keep checking back with mix106radio.com for all your latest updates and news having to do with Boise River flows and possible flooding.