By BRIAN WALKER

Staff Writer

That amazing beauty of rushing water can also be freaky dangerous.

The same flooding conditions that are driving hundreds of people to take in the rapids at the Post Falls Dam have law enforcement on edge for a tragedy waiting to happen in area lakes or streams.

Lake Coeur d'Alene was expected to reach nearly 2 feet above flood stage on Tuesday night with no major drop into early next week, according to the National Weather Service.

"We've never been in a situation like this as far as the saturated soils," NWS Hydrologist Katherine Rowden said during a press conference at Avista Utilities in Spokane on Tuesday. "We do have more rain coming, but not on the order that we've been having."

Scattered rain showers and continued snow melt are expected to keep both Lake Coeur d'Alene and the St. Joe River at St. Maries above flood stage through at least Tuesday.

“They’ll continue to have flooding (on the Joe) because the lake backs up into St. Maries,” Rowden said.

The Joe was more than 4 feet above flood stage on Tuesday afternoon.

“We’ll see little breaks in the rain here and there over the next week, but overall it just keeps coming,” Coeur d’Alene Press meteorologist Randy Mann said. “I don’t see an extended break through at least early April.”

Patrick Maher, Avista's hydro operations engineer, said Spokane River flow at the Post Falls Dam is expected to reach 42,600 cubic feet per second, which would make it the fifth-highest since 1891. The Lake Coeur d'Alene level of nearly 2,135 feet is the eighth-highest since 1906.

"The lake is like a bathtub without an outlet," Maher said, adding the only outlet is the narrow Spokane River next to North Idaho College.

Maher said maximum elevations for the lake generally happen in April or May, not March, signifying the high amount of mountain snowpack over the winter and recent rain.

George Wilson, of Post Falls, reveled at the falls below the dam at Falls Park on Tuesday.

"This is really something to see," he said. "I've lived here 15 years, and I've never seen it roar like this. It's beautiful — as long as you stay back."

Law enforcement warns water watchers to stay at least 5 feet back from the banks because the water remains dangerously cold at 38.9 degrees. Floating debris that can include large trees or logs and a strong current also pose dangers.

"Hypothermia would set in almost immediately," said Mark Gregory of the Spokane County Sheriff's Office. "With that swift of water and all that debris — I don't care how good of a swimmer you are, you're not going to be able to fight that. It's a disaster waiting to happen."

Even experienced boaters are encouraged to stay off the river as well, he said.

"This is not the time to go out and try your swift-water boating skills," Gregory said.

Those who are on or near the water should wear a life jacket and use extreme caution.

A Kootenai County Sheriff's Office press release states the agency has had reports of boaters on the river above the dam creating high wakes that are damaging properties.

"As a boater, you are responsible for your wake as well as any damage that it causes," the press release states. "Please be respectful of others who may be already sustaining damage due to the high water levels."

The Coeur d'Alene River near Harrison was at 32.4 feet on Tuesday afternoon, making its way toward the record of 33.6 feet. Meanwhile, conditions upstream on the river at Enaville and Cataldo have dropped below flood stage.