By Lyndsie Kiebert
Reader Staff
The Northwest River Forecast Center predicts Lake Pend Oreille water levels will go down from here, as the lake hovered just over 2,064 feet since Sunday.
The dining deck at Chop in Hope is heavily sand-bagged and weathering the rising waters. Photo by Rebecca Hagemann.
Mid-Wednesday, Lake Pend Oreille sat at 2,064.18 feet, though the gauge read 2,064.2 just hours earlier. Summer pool for the lake is 2,062.5 and flood level is a foot higher at 2,063.5.
All signs, including the weather forecast, say Bonner County residents have seen the worst flooding 2018 has to offer.
Based on predictions, 2018 was set to rival 1997, when Lake Pend Oreille reached 2,065.74 feet. Another year mentioned was 2011, when the lake reached 2,064.29 feet. Based on the current forecast, this year is unlikely to rival either of those levels.
While we have you ...
... if you appreciate that access to the news, opinion, humor, entertainment and cultural reporting in the Sandpoint Reader is freely available in our print newspaper as well as here on our website, we have a favor to ask. The Reader is locally owned and free of the large corporate, big-money influence that affects so much of the media today. We're supported entirely by our valued advertisers and readers. We're committed to continued free access to our paper and our website here with NO PAYWALL - period. But of course, it does cost money to produce the Reader. If you're a reader who appreciates the value of an independent, local news source, we hope you'll consider a voluntary contribution. You can help support the Reader for as little as $1.
You can contribute at either Paypal or Patreon.
Contribute at Patreon Contribute at Paypal
Coming up this week! Don’t miss out on a Student Safety Summit, Sherlock, Earth Day Cleanups…. and more! See the full list of events in the 
