Big Drop In Lake Roosevelt Unlikely Lower-Than-Average Snowpack Means Drastic Drawdowns Won’t Be Necessary

Access to fish at Lake Roosevelt is easier than it was last year. A lower-than-average snowpack indicates there should not be a repeat of the severe drawdowns that left all the reservoir’s boat ramps high and dry last spring.

At the first of February last year, the water level at Lake Roosevelt was elevation 1,263 feet, said Craig Sprankle of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in Grand Coulee.

This week, the level was about 1,267 feet.

The hardship for anglers last year came in the early spring, when the water level dropped to 1,208 feet in early March, one of the most severe drawdowns ever for the reservoir.

The lake then began filling with runoff to 1,280 feet by June 19 and stayed high through July. Full pool at Lake Roosevelt is 1,290 feet.

The most recent forecasts for this spring indicate the lake should gradually drop to a low of around 1,250-1,255 feet in March, Sprankle said.

The snowpack in the Columbia Basin above Grand Coulee is about 92 percent of normal, he said. That compares with a snowpack that was 130 percent of normal last year.

“We’re not looking at a big drawdown this year like we’ve had in the last two years if water conditions hold this pattern,” Sprankle said.

“The caveat is that the forecast can always change with depending on the weather.”

A drawdown that’s not so extreme as last year would be a big boost to anglers for several reasons:

If water levels stay above 1,250 feet, anglers would be able to launch boats at eight public ramps along the reservoir: Spring Canyon, Keller Ferry, Lincoln, Seven Bays, Fort Spokane, Hunters, Gifford and Kettle Falls.

Significant sudden rises or drops in the reservoir’s water level tend to turn off the fishing success for several days.

Deep drawdowns flush fish over Grand Coulee Dam and out of Lake Roosevelt. Low water levels also speed the Columbia River flow through the reservoir, reducing the production of plankton, the primary feed for young fish.

Unpredictable water level fluctuations also make life difficult for Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area workers who maintain boat access ramps and docks.

Two weeks ago, a rise in water level left the Keller dock underwater.

“We have a crew that adjusts the docks, usually on Fridays, based on a three-day water level forecast from the Bureau of Reclamation,” said Dan Hand, National Park Service spokesman in Grand Coulee.

“In summer, the levels are more stable, but this time of year, the fluctuations can catch us off guard.”

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