Lake Pend Oreille Flow Limits Sought

Spokane could someday try to drain water from Lake Pend Oreille if Idaho doesn’t set minimum stream flows for its North Idaho rivers, a Senate committee heard Friday.

“It’s a very real threat,” Bill Graham of the state Department of Water Resources told the Senate Resources and Environment Committee.

The department is asking the Legislature to approve minimum flows for three rivers this year: The Pend Oreille River from just below Albeni Falls Dam to the state line, about 2.5 miles; about 26 miles of the St. Maries River in Benewah County; and about 36 miles of the St. Joe River from Marble Creek to the St. Maries River.

Sen. Laird Noh, R-Kimberly, the committee’s chairman, said, “The easiest way to ensure somebody downstream doesn’t end up appropriating all our water is to get some minimum stream flow requirements in place.”

At hearings conducted over the summer, no one objected to the flows proposed for the three rivers, which are designed to ensure enough water to support fish, wildlife habitat and recreation. Lawmakers seemed favorable Friday.

If the Legislature doesn’t act, the minimum flows take effect. As water rights, they’ve already been approved by the department’s director.

, DataTimes