Flathead Lake Levels

The following resources contain materials that the Flathead Lakers have found helpful in understanding the complexities surrounding the summer lake level issue. We will update the content as we learn more. We hope this information will help you better understand the issue and help you make informed decisions. Information provided is for educational and self-help purposes only.

Flathead Lake’s summer water level is an important quality of life issue for many members and one of the many issues the Lakers watch relative to water quality. The following Lakers one sentence statement about summer water level serves as an introduction to our actions and progress relative to the issue.

Given that all the federal licensing requirements are met, and provided the winter snowpack and Flathead Lake Watershed inflows are adequate, the Flathead Lakers are supportive of full or near full pool lake level during the summer months.

The Flathead Laker’s action has consisted of work in 3 areas:

1. To be a reliable source of all pertinent information concerning the issue.

2. To initiate and maintain dialogue with stakeholders and Laker members.

3. To learn about all possible environmental impacts of different summer lake levels, ie. both low levels and full-pool.

The Flathead Laker’s actions have led to progress in those three areas:

1. The Laker’s website now has a separate section dedicated to Lake Levels that covers SKQ Dam operations, water and snowpack information for our watershed, lake inflow and outflow data, educational materials, including relevant historical documents, and the latest news articles. 

2. The Lakers has established the Lake Level Working Group that has met with Energy Keepers, Inc. (EKI), National Organization to Save Flathead Lake (NOSFL), the Council for Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Lake County Commissioners, the Flathead Lake Biological Station, businesses around the lake, and fellow Flathead Laker members.

   All of the Stakeholders we have met with are troubled by the community divisiveness this issue has created, and appreciate our strides for keeping the channels of communication open. EKI has since stepped up in this endeavor as well with the hiring of a Communications Director and the weekly production and posting of a lake level Range of Forecast Graph.

3. Our extensive research on the summer lake levels at both full-pool and significantly lower than full-pool, has made us aware of the following issues:

   1. Long term effects of both the SKQ and Hungry Horse dams.

   2. Full-pool ponding up the Flathead River

   3. Low lake level effects on wetlands, irrigators, recreationists, and businesses that have relied on full-pool lake levels.

   4. Identifying issues that may result from individual’s adaptation strategies planning ahead for consistently lower summer lake levels. For instance, the possible impacts of plastic floating docks, dock and ramp extensions, and lake bottom dredging.