Dry Falls (this was a positive site)

[Shawn Seeger]

So a friend of a friend just share a vacation picture and I was stoked! I asked when the picture was taken and she said just Thursday....



The part I am excited about is water in the flats!!!

Any of you locals know about a change in water management or fix to the aqua system there?

I attached a picture of mine from last year as comparison

 

[Billy]

We got 2 inches of rain to start July. Could be that. Coffeepot still had water flowing into it few days ago loud enough to hear 100 yards away. Not sure that is normal either?

 

[_WW_]

It had some in April.

 

[troutpocket]

I circled the Columbia Basin (I think ). We’re in the range of 90-110% of normal precipitation for the water year going back to last October. It feels like more than that!

 

[RPL/LL]

Well it's a start. hope it keeps getting more and stays that way.

 

[Buzzy]

We got 2 inches of rain to start July. Could be that. Coffeepot still had water flowing into it few days ago loud enough to hear 100 yards away. Not sure that is normal either?

Alkali Lake filled up enough to water up the spawning creek on Lenore. It was bone dry during brood collection; WDFW resorted to seine nets along the shoreline. All that rain was nice.

 

[Scott Salzer]

That area was a hoot to fish when it was full of water. Shallow and you could see the wake of the fish coming to crush your fly. You could also sight fish.

 

[Peach]

Nice to see, but looks like it needs much more water to use the orginal boat launch still...

 

[troutpocket]

Here’s another map view of regional percent of normal precipitation since January. It appears our whole state is in pretty good shape. But southern OR, ID, and northern CA, NV, and UT are dry.

 

[Guy Gregory]

We caught a break with the wet, cool spring keeping plants green without irrigation and not evaporating everything. Not much recharge, but some is better than none given the water table situation in the upper Columbia basin
For those of you that remember, 2014 and 2015 were the bad old days. Need big recharge year in the fall like 2016.

About Dry Falls: Hard to figure, Columbia Basin Project water management governs water in the Grand Coulee.

 

[Buzzy]

@Shawn Seeger - I drove by DF yesterday, there's still water in what remains of that former "back bay" (the "heater") but the vegetation is just dense. I wonder if we had several really wet years and it raised the elevation of the lake how long it would take to drown the vegetation and if it would become fishable?

 

[Shawn Seeger]

@Shawn Seeger - I drove by DF yesterday, there's still water in what remains of that former "back bay" (the "heater") but the vegetation is just dense. I wonder if we had several really wet years and it raised the elevation of the lake how long it would take to drown the vegetation and if it would become fishable?

Thanks, I agree with you on several wet years. I still believe that when the Corp. of Engineers lowered Backs Lake and "repaired" /sealed the dam above Dry Falls they sealed off the natural ground seal/flow that kept Dry Falls higher.

 

[Buzzy]

Thanks, I agree with you on several wet years. I still believe that when the Corp. of Engineers lowered Backs Lake and "repaired" /sealed the dam above Dry Falls they sealed off the natural ground seal/flow that kept Dry Falls higher.

I thought that work entailed head gate work (gate seals) but if I understand you then you're suggesting sealing fractured rock? Your theory is interesting as I've heard from several locals (local yokels) that same lowering and work on the the Dry Falls dam affected the springs at Lenore and there's still an effect (in their local yokel minds).

Drove by again today, still water back there.

 

[Irafly]

I wonder if the core did the same years ago. If you look at pictures of Dry Falls from I belief the late 50s, there also isn’t water in that section. I wonder if the water kreelex back in over time.

Lenore has not been the same since the Banks Lake draw. I’m not a local and I have the same theory.

 

[Mike_Schmuck]

Alkali Lake filled up enough to water up the spawning creek on Lenore. It was bone dry during brood collection; WDFW resorted to seine nets along the shoreline. All that rain was nice.

Unfortunately the lack of water in the spawning channel had more to do with someone holding back water in Blue Lake than it did precipitation. However, the hatchery guys were happy to do it the way we did in 2022 so it looks like that will continue. We will also be doing another survey there during the last week of March.

 

[Buzzy]

Unfortunately the lack of water in the spawning channel had more to do with someone holding back water in Blue Lake than it did precipitation. However, the hatchery guys were happy to do it the way we did in 2022 so it looks like that will continue. We will also be doing another survey there during the last week of March.

Thanks for letting us know about the upcoming survey, Mike. And welcome to the forum!!