Big Horn River flows continue to stay high

Emergency Management coordinator Bill Gordon held a conference call on Tuesday afternoon regarding water levels in the Big Horn and Wind Rivers.

The river is currently flowing at 5500 cfs (cubic feet per second) and the Bureau of Reclamation hopes to be able to continue that flow for the next two or three days.

With inflows into Boysen Reservoir increasing mid-week to approximately 11,000 cfs and slowly subsiding over the weekend, that means the outflow into the Wind River could be raised to as much as 6500 cfs.

While that sounds like a lot of water, Gordon said in the late 1990’s the river reached a high of 10,000 cfs and in 2010 and 2011 it reached 7000 cfs.

Gordon indicated the lake is just a few inches from full storage capacity and estimates are that the lake level will climb about two feet into the flood pool.

The flood pool is an additional seven feet of storage capability engineered into the reservoir to provide a cushion for times like this.

Once the lake elevation enters the flood pool, the Corps of Engineers becomes a partner in the decision making process.

Another meeting is scheduled on Friday between Gordon and the Bureau of Reclamation, the National Weather Service, Office of Homeland Security, Washakie County Emergency Management, Big Horn County Emergency Management and the Regional Emergency Response Team 6, based in Worland.