Lakes Commission to host meeting on area dams and waterways

By Reader Staff

The Lakes Commission will host a public meeting on Tuesday, June 3, from 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at the Priest River Event Center (5399 U.S. Hwy. 2). The agenda will include presentations on ongoing river and lake projects, as well as progress on the Albeni Falls Dam, among other topics.

Presenters will include members of the Idaho Department of Water Resources, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Avista, Idaho Department of Fish and Game, University of Idaho and Priest River Urban Renewal Agency. The meeting will not offer an option for virtual attendance.

The Corps will give an update on the Albeni Falls Dam and Lake Pend Oreille’s water level in conjunction with U of I, which completed a lake level economic impact study following the delay in reaching summer pool in 2024.

Engineers discovered delamination in the steel of the dam’s spillway gates in 2023 and have since undertaken repair and replacement measures for all of the 70-year-old gates. The agency plans to replace one gate every six months beginning in 2027.

Spillway gates are currently operating either fully closed or fully open to reduce stress on the metal. Despite the limitations, the Corps recently announced that Lake Pend Oreille is set to reach 2,060 feet by Saturday, May 31. The Albeni Falls Dam is currently putting out 40,000 cubic feet of water per second, but it is still too early to predict when the lake will reach its usual full summer pool level of between 2,062 and 2,062.5 feet.

“Weather patterns, snowmelt rates and precipitation will all influence the refill timeline,” stated Upper Columbia Senior Water Manager Leon Basdekas in a recent news release. “We will complete refill once flood risk has passed while keeping with our requirement to minimize spillway gate movements.”

For more information or to see the meeting’s full agenda, visit lakescommission.org/june-3rd-2025.