Boysen levels off

The Bureau of Reclamation announced Tuesday afternoon that the lake level in Boysen has leveled off. The runoff filled four feet into the flood pool, though inflow into Boysen has now dropped below the release flow. Inflows are forecast to diminish daily over the next several days.

The first step will be to maintain the release of 9,000 cubic feet per second (cfs) until the end of the week, allowing the level in the flood pool to drop. An announcement is expected about reduced releases early next week.

The elevation of the lake is 4,729 feet. The elevation of the lake for normal storage is 4,725 feet. Once the lake is returned to 4,725 feet, release flows will match inflows so the level of the lake does not exceed the 4,725 elevation. Over time, the releases will be reduced to around 2,000 cfs for the remainder of the summer.

Hot Spring Sounty Emergency Management Coordinator Bill Gordon explained the lake serves several purposes. “Two very important ones are flood control, for which both Boysen and Anchor did a very nice job, and irrigation, for which they will do very nicely thru the summer.”

Gordon expressed appreciation to Bureau of Reclamation, National Weather Service and Corps of Engineers “for their talents at predicting and managing a very high snowmelt runoff, along with heavy rain in the mountains. And through it all keeping release flows below a damaging level in Thermopolis and Hot Springs County.”

Gordon is also appreciative to the citizens of Hot Springs County. “You were alert, stayed informed, and most of all, stayed safe. Be patient for a couple more weeks as river levels come back down, have a great Fourth of July, and continue to be alert, stay informed and enjoy your summer.”