GRAND COULEE — The Bureau of Reclamation, which oversees and operated much of the Columbia Basin Project, announced on Thursday that it will begin operation of the Potholes Reservoir and O’Sullivan Dam outlet works and Banks Lake and Dry Falls Dam outlet works on March 1, with Columbia River water set to flow into Billy Clapp Reservoir that same day in preparation for the 2023 irrigation season.

According to a bureau press release, the agency also plans to begin flowing water into Banks Lake on Friday, Feb. 17, and will begin operating the outlet works at Billy Clapp Reservoir on March 14.

The system of lakes and reservoirs is used to move water from Lake Roosevelt down to the canals that provide irrigation water to farmers in Lincoln, Grant, Adams, Benton and Franklin counties as part of the Columbia Basin Project.

As a result, the Bureau of Reclamation is advising ice anglers and anyone recreating on Banks Lake or Potholes Reservoir to note that the start of operations within the project can lead to a rapid change in water levels and conditions without warning.