Commencement of Spring Rise on Kootenay Lake

Date

The International Kootenay Lake Board of Control, after consultation with FortisBC on Corra Linn Dam operations, has determined "the commencement of the spring rise," for purposes defined in paragraph 2, (6) of the 1938 International Joint Commission Order on Kootenay Lake, occurred at 00:00 PDT on April 27, 2022.

The maximum allowable level of Kootenay Lake will thereafter be calculated based upon the lowering formula defined in paragraph 2, (6) of the Order until the lake returns to an elevation of 1,743.32 feet at Nelson on the recession limb of the snowmelt hydrograph.

The level of Kootenay Lake as of 00:00 PDT April 27 was 1,738.73 feet (529.965 meters) and rising as measured at the Queens Bay FortisBC gauge. Kootenay Lake inflow was 16,900 cubic feet per second (cfs) at the time of spring rise declaration, and is forecast to increase gradually, reaching about 20,000 cfs over the next week following April 27.

For reference, the lowest daily average Kootenay Lake level for 2022 (at Queens Bay) was 1,738.60 feet (529.931 m) on April 25, 2022.

The Order may be viewed here: https://ijc.org/en/klbc/1938-kootenay-lake-order.

If you have any questions about this declaration, please contact Martin Suchy (Canadian Section Board secretary, Martin.Suchy@ec.gc.ca), or Sonja Michelsen (US Section Board secretary, Sonja.M.Michelsen@usace.army.mil).

kootenay elevations eccc

This plot shows observed Kootenay Lake elevations in 2022 including the lake elevation measured at Queens Bay, the lake elevation measured at Nelson, the historical range of lake elevations at Queens Bay, and the Rule Curve showing maximum allowed lake level elevations. Credit: Environment and Climate Change Canada