Releases from Libby Dam drop slightly

Releases from Libby Dam were dropped Friday night from 18,400 cubic-feet per second to 17,000 cfs.

"Tentatively, this flow should be held through at least next week," said to Paul Koski at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Reservoir Control Center in Portland.

The state of Montana has an operational request into federal water managers on the Columbia River System that could drop releases, thus lowering the Kootenai River downstream, even more. Montana has asked that the releases for downstream endangered salmon be stretched out through the end of September and only take the top 10 feet from Lake Koocanusa instead of 20 feet called for in the salmon biological opinion.

Montana officials say the steep drawdown affects productivity in the reservoir, and the uneven flows disrupt riparian flora and fauna in the Kootenai River below, which was hammered in June by a spill from Libby Dam as high as 35,000 cfs.

If the request is denied, flows in the Kootenai River will average between 17,000 and 19,000 cfs through the end of August. If approved, flows could drop to 12,000 to 14,000 through the end of September.

An answer from federal water managers is expected within the next week.