BOATING -- The water level at Banks Lake is coming up close to normal range this winter after a dramatic maintenance drawdown that reached 30 feet below normal in October.

The lake elevation was up to 1,561 feet this week, about 7 feet below the normal winter operating range.

The summer-fall drawdown was a deterrent to boat launching and fishing at the popular 27-mile-long reservoir between Electric City and Coulee City, Wash.

The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation plans to have the lake level back up to around 1,565 feet by April.

See the fascinating aerial photos made during the peak of the drawdown.