Is the water level of Lake Coeur dAlene going to change?
Lake Coeur d’Alene is a natural lake with a restricted outlet. The Post Falls Dam located nine miles downstream of the outlet on the Spokane River does not affect the lake’s outlet flow capacity. During the spring and winter, when inflows exceed the natural outlet flow capacity the lake rises. When inflows are less than the natural outlet flow capacity, the lake level falls. Typically, Avista maintains the lake at summer elevation after runoff through the first part of September. Avista attempts to lower the lake 7.5′ by the end of January each year. Depending upon the weather, Lake Coeur d’Alene is on free flow discharge from January until after runoff. The level reached (both low and high level) depends entirely upon precipitation and temperature. For more information on water levels in Kootenai County visit the following sites: avistacorp.com; Daily Post Falls outflow, CDA Lake elevation; Idaho USGS Realtime river flow information.
