What happens if there is a flood in Ridges Basin?
Lake Nighthorse is an “off-stream” reservoir. The area where runoff will enter the basin is small and will not produce large floods. The dam will fully store the “Probable Maximum Flood” and still have an additional three feet of freeboard or storage space. The operation of the dam will require that during and after the flood, water will be released slowly to drain the flood waters from the reservoir without damaging downstream areas or the dam.
