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Weather dampens lake's decline
Cool weather and rain over the weekend helped make up for evaporation
By DYLAN DARLING
Cool weather and rain over the weekend temporarily slowed the decline of the water level Upper Klamath Lake.
The moisture helped the inflow of water into the lake and helped make up for days of heavy evaporation during the hot spell over the second half of July, said Cecil Lesley, operations manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Klamath Reclamation Project.
"It was nice to have the cooler, wetter weather to improve the inflow," he said.
The water year type, which the Bureau sets to guide how much water goes downstream, stays in the lake and is diverted for irrigation, is still "dry."
But the inflow into the lake is tracking on a smooth line just below the inflow for a "below average" year type, Lesley said.
At the end of each month, the lake needs to be above lake level target to be in compliance with the Endangered Species Act. On July 31 it needed to be at 4,140.3 feet above sea level. It ended up being 4140.68, meaning there was a buffer of about 0.4 of a foot.
Lesley said the lake level should make it above the target for the end of August, which is 4,139, though the buffer should be cut in half over the month.
"But it depends on what type of weather we have," he said.
By DYLAN DARLING
Cool weather and rain over the weekend temporarily slowed the decline of the water level Upper Klamath Lake.
The moisture helped the inflow of water into the lake and helped make up for days of heavy evaporation during the hot spell over the second half of July, said Cecil Lesley, operations manager for the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's Klamath Reclamation Project.
"It was nice to have the cooler, wetter weather to improve the inflow," he said.
The water year type, which the Bureau sets to guide how much water goes downstream, stays in the lake and is diverted for irrigation, is still "dry."
But the inflow into the lake is tracking on a smooth line just below the inflow for a "below average" year type, Lesley said.
At the end of each month, the lake needs to be above lake level target to be in compliance with the Endangered Species Act. On July 31 it needed to be at 4,140.3 feet above sea level. It ended up being 4140.68, meaning there was a buffer of about 0.4 of a foot.
Lesley said the lake level should make it above the target for the end of August, which is 4,139, though the buffer should be cut in half over the month.
"But it depends on what type of weather we have," he said.
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