Good News..Bad News: Boise Basin Reservoirs Are At 96 Percent of Capacity

It's a good news bad news story....the Boise river basin reservoirs that feed into the Boise River are at 96 percent capacity...that's the bad news, the good news is the flow into the Boise River is dropping 500cfs today, which should help flooding in the Treasure Valley...at least for now.

The Boise Basin Reservoir System that feeds into the Boise River includes Arrowrock, Anderson Ranch and Lucky Peak. Those three reservoirs are what keeps the treasure Valley from flooding and they are now 97% full. Unfortunately over 12,000cfs of snow melt is running into the reservoir system while only around 9000cfs is flowing out into the Boise River.

The good news is due to cooler weather over the weekend, water that used to be flowing into the system has slowed so the Bureau of Reclamation announced today that flows are decreasing the in the Boise River from 9,260cfs (cubic feet per second) to 8700cfs.

This decrease is due to cooler temperatures continuing to slow snow melt, allowing reservoir managers to gain some available space in the reservoir system. Further increases or decreases in flows could be necessary over the next week during this seasonal period.

Remember that a flow rate of 7,000 cfs is considered flood-stage level at the Glenwood Bridge . The flow rate of 8,700 cfs is similar to the levels that occurred during the first week of May.

Residents of flood-prone areas in and near the river and Greenbelt areas are encouraged to keep informed of changing river, stream, and weather conditions from the National Weather Service, Boise Office website at http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/boi/. The site offers flow data, weather forecasts, and flood alerts.

If flooding happens, follow flood-response instructions issued by your local emergency management agency http://www.adacounty.id.gov/flood, and tune-in to Mix 106 or go online at mix106radio.com for updates.

Ada County residents can also sign up for CodeRED emergency alerts at https://public.coderedweb.com/cne/en-US/BF01DC4DD213, or download the CodeRED mobile app from your mobile device’s app store.

Boise River reservoirs are at approximately 96 percent of capacity. More flow increases are possible in the coming weeks, depending on weather conditions.

Remember to say away from the river and Greenbelt. The water is running very fast and is cold and extremely dangerous for people and pets.

For real-time Boise River flows at Reclamation facilities in the Pacific Northwest Region, visit http://www.usbr.gov/pn/hydromet/rtindex/boise.html.