A gauge, maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey and located at SKQ dam on the lower Flathead River, malfunctioned in mid-August, provoking a flurry of speculation that the lake level was dropping quickly and prematurely.

Untrue, says Brian Lipscomb, CEO of Energy Keepers, which manages the tribally owned dam.

The gauge did go out of service for a short time mid-month. “The USGS responded quickly and got the gauge back up and running,” says Lipscomb. “The current reading is accurate.”

As of Tuesday, the lake level was 2892.18 feet. Full pool is 2893.

According to Lipscomb, “the lake is in a slow draft that will bring the lake to around one foot below full or 2892 feet by Labor Day weekend.”

Energy Keepers will continue drafting the lake this fall, bringing the level to two feet below full pool, or 2891, by the end of October. That’s a standard goal, designed to That’s a standard goal, designed to mitigate shore erosion from a full lake.

Given another year of below-normal spring runoff, Energy Keepers received permission from the Secretary of the Interior last spring to deviate from its standard in-stream flow levels below the dam. That strategy allowed them to keep more water in the lake, which was at or near full pool through early August, when the level began to slowly drop.

Lipscomb says their management approach has been helped by weather patterns that delivered an unusual amount of rainfall in July, increasing the amount of water pouring into the lake from upstream sources, and milder temperatures that reduced demands for electricity across the region.

As a result, Energy Keepers was able to maintain “a higher than forecasted lake level” through July, while maintaining “near average” river flows below the dam.

Ongoing drought remains issue

Whisper Camel-Means, head of CSKT’s Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation and Conservation, says it’s too early to know how the lake and river ecology fared this summer, but she’s optimistic.

“There's a lot of public pressure and wildlife and fisheries pressures when we're in a drought,” she said in a recent interview. “And we seem to be in this continuing drought.”

The goal, from an ecological perspective, is to mimic natural flows in the river with a springtime pulse of fresh, nutrient rich water (called a freshet), a more consistent flow during the summer and diminished flows in the fall.

The freshet, which was limited this year to allow the lake to fill, benefits the entire watershed, says Camel-Means. The spring pulse helps regenerate Flathead Lake and the native fish species such as bull trout and West Slope cutthroat trout that the Tribes are trying to restore. It also benefits the downstream ecosystem.

If water levels get too low below the dam, the water temperature rises and can imperil fisheries. It’s a phenomenon, along with rising temperatures, that’s caused fishing closures on river systems across Montana recently, including the Beaverhead, Big Hole, Bitterroot, Clark Fork, Blackfoot and Gallatin.

Camel-Means says tribal biologists will know more about the impact of this year’s dam management strategy as they begin to conduct fish surveys in the lower river this fall, “so we'll see over time if populations have been impacted.”

Meanwhile, she’s hoping the coming year brings higher snowpack and more runoff to the Flathead Basin, “to let more water plow through the system. That's the preference.”

She also points out that the Tribes, working in concert with Energy Keepers and federal partners, seek to balance the needs of a resource that’s stressed by ongoing drought and the people who want to play in and on the lake.

“Just holding the water back for recreation isn't the only value that there is across this whole region and in the system,” she says. “We care and we're trying our best to take care of the resource and make sure these fish are in this system for future generations. We're looking at all those aspects every time we make a decision.”