OLDTOWN — Albeni Falls Dam is set to begin free-flow operations on Sunday, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Outflow at the dam was at approximately 45,000 cubic feet per second on Friday, placing it close to free-flow capacity at the natural constriction between the dam and Lake Pend Oreille.

The corps said it is taking the powerhouse at the dam offline and starting to raise the spillway gates to transition all discharge to the spillway.

“Albeni Falls Dam outflows will therein be completely controlled by the natural constriction,” engineer Logan Osgood-Zimmerman, an engineer at the Hydraulics & Hydrology branch of the corps’ Water Management section in Seattle, said an email update.

Under free-flow operation, the estimated initial outflow from the dam will be approximately 50,000 cfs and will vary as the lake level rises, according to the corps. Free-flow allows the dam to continue to release the maximum flow, but that flow remains subject to the natural construction between the facility and the lake.

The lake’s level is expected to increase within the range of 2,054.5 to-2,056.5 feet this weekend. Outflow at the dam is expected to increase within the range of 44,000-54,000 cfs.

The seasonal water supply forecast for April through July inflow volume is 152 percent of average and snowpack in the basin is above average.

“With the above-average forecast there is the possibility that Lake Pend Oreille and/or Albeni Falls Dam releases could exceed flood stage,” Osgood-Zimmerman said.

The corps said it is closely monitoring weather and snowpack conditions, lake inflow, forecasted releases, and the level of Lake Pend Oreille.

The corps will continue to operate Albeni Falls Dam to minimize flood risk.

Keith Kinnaird can be reached by email at kkinnaird@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow him on Twitter @KeithDailyBee.