Avista Drops Spokane River Flows

In a last-ditch effort to maintain negotiated summer water levels at Lake Coeur d’Alene, Avista is reducing Spokane River flows out of Post Falls Dam to the absolute minimum of 500 cubic feet per second. The median flow for this time of year is about 2,000 cfs. “The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license governing Avista’s Spokane River Project operations was issued in 2009, balancing the needs of all water users,” Avista said in a just-posted release. “This balance takes into account Coeur d’Alene Lake’s water levels and the Spokane River flows downstream of Post Falls, among other issues.” It’s just the latest sobering news about record-low river flows across the West stemming from a low snowpack in the mountains/ Rich Landers , SR Outdoors blog. More here .

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