Moses Lake, Potholes at unusually high levels

MOSES LAKE — The water level in Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir is so high right now that local officials are having to release water just to hold the level steady.

“It’s higher now then it has been in years,” said Chris Overland, general manager of the Moses Lake Irrigation and Rehabilitation District. “The Bureau of Reclamation is is releasing 90-100 cubic feet per second from Potholes just to ease the pressure.”

The winter’s heavy snow, combined with rain and slowly warming temperatures, have conspired to fill both Moses Lake and Potholes Reservoir unseasonably early.

According to the Bureau of Reclamation, the level of Moses Lake has risen nearly a foot since Feb. 15, and is nearly three feet over where it was last year at this time.

And while it appears the worst of winter may be over, there’s no predicting what this unusually wet and cold winter may yet deliver.

“No one can anticipate how much is coming,” Overland said.

The current situation will be solved when farmers can begin drawing irrigation water from the Moses Lake-Potholes system, which will be on March 6, according to the irrigation district.

Moses Lake is part of the intricate water storage and management system designed to deliver irrigation water to farmers in the southern reaches of the Columbia Basin. According to Overland, farmers draw about 250,000 acre-feet — the amount of water needed to cover one acre a foot deep — in a typical irrigation season lasting from March through early June.

Moses Lake normally hits its highest levels during the summer, when irrigation draws are minimal. Lake levels are still several feet from max.

Charles H. Featherstone can be reached via email at countygvt@columbiabasinherald.com.